I heard that seventy-percent
Of people here in a recent poll
Believe in angels, which I find
Very interesting on the whole.

It's quite all right if people want
To believe in their hearts that angels exist.
But I admit that I'm a skeptic
And do not want to be on that list.

I bet that most believers, however,
Do not think that angels have wings
And sit around in flowing gowns,
Holding their harps and plucking the strings.

Angels, spirits, ghosts, and demons
Are interesting and make great stories.
I find them entertaining, and I
Place them in similar categories.

Mythological characters
Are fascinating, and I suppose
That from our human collective unconscious
Such fantastical figures arose.

Do you believe in guardian angels?
Again, it's perfectly fine if you do.
Mine are doctors, nurses, teachers,
Friends, and paramedics, too.

So if I tell you that you're an angel,
You know I mean it figuratively.
It means you're special, and that is something
About which we would both agree.

-by Bob B (7-30-23)

For far too long Trump has gotten
Away with far too much.
For years, he has thought he is
Someone the law can't touch.

As president, he thought he'd get
Away with anything.
Ask the far-right extremists whom
He's taken under his wing.

He thinks that running for president
Means his chances are slim
That all the crimes he might have committed
Are going to catch up with him.

By yelling "Witch hunt!" and lying he hopes
That prosecutors will cower.
There is nothing I know of that
Can quench his thirst for power.

How stupid does he think we are--
Voters here in the States--
When he supports his fake electors?
That's how he operates.

In different states he's facing charges.
Watch each news report.
For a number of months he will be
Spending some time in court.

Prosecutors, do your work.
Juries, listen hard.
Trump's attorneys will grasp at straws.
You'd best be on your guard.

He MUST be held accountable;
If guilty, he should pay.
May the rule of law win out;
May justice win the day!

-by Bob B (7-29-23)

Florida's current school standards
Leave a lot to be desired.
In fact, the people responsible
For writing them deserve to be fired.

Yes, they do mention the horrors
Of slavery, we'll grant them that.
But what they go on to say is truly
Disgusting. We can smell a rat.

The writers suggest that slavery
Wasn't all that bad for some
Enslaved people, for luckily they
Derived benefits therefrom--

Benefits from the skills they learned!
Skills! Please, give us a break!
I have heard outlandish statements,
But that one really takes the cake.

That is just like saying that
Concentration camps had frills
Because the Holocaust survivors
Were able to learn survival skills!

Enslaved people were ripped from their homeland,
Chained, beaten, murdered, and *****.
Let's not talk of learning skills.
The lucky ones were those who escaped.

Beaten if they tried to learn
To read, the enslaved enjoyed no rights.
They were merely property
To make life easier for whites.

The only ones who benefited
Were those who sold and owned the enslaved.
Plantation owners and slave traders
Were notably among the depraved.

Don't downplay or sugarcoat
Atrocities faced by many a slave--
Atrocities that occurred right here
In "the land of the free and the home of the brave."

Teaching revisionist history
Is wrong, for it ignores the truth.
Honesty should be our goal.
Otherwise, we mislead our youth.

-by Bob B (7-25-23)

Thomas could be rude.
The guy was always stewed
And had a reputation in the town.

Not much of a thinker,
The wild, rambunctious drinker
Was met by local townsfolk with a frown.

He had a couple buddies--
Similar case studies--
Who would often sit with him and drink.

It seems they gave their all
To drinking alcohol.
Not a healthy life, do you think?

The three of them were single,
So often they would mingle
With ladies who would show up at the bar.

But surely you can guess
That their limited success
Resulted from their drunken repertoire.

Thomas then confided
In his buddies and decided
That self-improvement meant a different tack.

He cut down on his drinking
And applied some wishful thinking,
Hoping he could find he had the knack.

As you'd have it, fate
Stepped up to the plate
And brought into the bar a gal named Sue.

Thomas took a chance
And asked Sue for a dance--
Something that was hard for him to do.

With soda as his savior
And on his best behavior,
Surprisingly, he made a good impression.

Dancing through the night,
The couple was a sight,
With Tom avoiding any indiscretion.

It wasn't long before
The two walked out the door.
Into the night they slyly disappeared.

Four or five months later
The nightclub's nosy waiter
Said he'd noticed something very weird:

He said that while eavesdropping
At a store where they were shopping,
He heard them talk of love and other things.

While standing there and staring,
He noticed they were wearing
Shiny, flashy, silver wedding rings.

The two had gotten married.
No, they hadn't tarried.
Now they could enjoy connubial bliss.

But when they both returned
To the nightclub we all learned
From watching them that something was amiss.

What had occurred to Thomas?
He hadn't kept his promise:
That he would change his wild, rambunctious ways.

It was very clear:
Sue had had it up to here.
She could tell this wasn't just a phase.

It went from bad to worse
As though there'd been a curse
Upon their marriage. Wasn't it a shame?

One day Sue departed.
Tom was broken hearted,
But he would not accept an ounce of blame.

Sometimes people don't--
Or maybe they just won't--
See the errors of their ways and change.

Eventually, of course,
Sue filed for divorce,
Which wasn't unexpected or so strange.

Thomas cried real tears
And guzzled down his beers,
And after he had reached beer number ten,

He'd mention Sue, but we
Knew WHAT was meant to be,
And none of us ran into Sue again.

So what then is the lesson?
I won't keep you guessin'.
You can live a good life if you choose.

However, if the sauce
Takes over as your boss,
Then use your head and say good-bye to *****!

-by Bob B (7-23-23)

One thing that's hard to escape from
Is social media trends.
People encounter them daily
And then share the posts with their friends.

The false information spreads quickly.
The internet boosts it along.
Many susceptible victims
Don't care if the info is wrong.

Quacks and unscrupulous people
Everywhere are to be found
Constantly looking for someone
With whom they can find common ground.

If you're in the market for snake oil
To grow some hair on your head,
You would be much better off
If you saved your money instead.

After the outbreak of COVID
From out of the woodwork we saw
Wackos appear with their cure-alls.
We could see flaw after flaw.

You can find charlatans selling
Cures for cancer and shirk
Any responsible notion,
For all those quick fixes don't work.

A new trend is spreading on TikTok:
Try drinking borax, they say.
Sprinkle a tad in your water;
Your joint pain will then go away!

Borax, a household cleaner,
Has other uses, you see.
Ingest it and you could have rashes
And seizures. No, that's not for me!

Dangerous health fads are out there.
Listen to experts who know
How to avoid falling victim
To someone who causes great woe.

Whatever you do, don't fall victim
To those who can cause you great woe.

-by Bob B (7-22-23)

You cannot always have hits in life;
There have to be some misses.
Sometimes you'll hear words of praise;
Sometimes you'll hear hisses.

Artists don't always aim to produce
Works to please the masses.
Those who try will find themselves
Falling flat on their *****.

The point is this: create…create!
Express what comes from the heart.
Do your best with each endeavor
Though folks might tear it apart.

Enjoy the creative process, for it
Can truly be your friend.
Results are fine, but the process itself
Is more than a means to an end.

Now, IF you have nothing but flops,
That might be a sign
That you should seek a different form
Of expression in order to shine.

Find what works for you and allow
Creative juices to flow.
If people expect you to be who you aren't,
Tell them, “Thank you, but no.”

-by Bob B (7-20-23)

Trump's cases are piling up.
In Florida, it's classified docs.
Jumping from ONE excuse to another,
He acts as though he's Goldilocks!

Falsifying business records:
Another accusation he faces.
But no matter what he does,
He always stays in supporters' good graces.

There's also the case in Georgia, where
It's interference in an election.
Then there's a possible D.C. case:
Involvement in an insurrection.

(Chorus)
Poor Trumpy!
Hear him moan.
All he has to count on is his telephone.
Always in a pickle but the fault's his own.
Poor Trumpy!

A case of ****** abuse
Is one that he has already lost.
It's incredible when you consider
All the lines that man has crossed.

Trump denies all charges, of course,
And yells, "Witch hunt!" and "Weaponization!"
But making him accountable,
Though bad for him, is good for the nation.

(Chorus)
Poor Trumpy!
Hear him moan.
All he has to count on is his telephone.
Always in a pickle but the fault's his own.
Poor Trumpy!

-by Bob B (7-19-23)