People often say what they wish,
And when they do, it's always nice
When speakers of English express themselves
In language that is clear and precise.

Presently, if you're somewhere else,
And I would rather have you near,
And if I were speaking with you on the phone,
I'd say, "I really wish you were here."

If, however, I speak of the past,
And my disappointment I wish to convey
Because you couldn't be where I was,
"I wish you had been there" is what I would say.

For "wish" situations, if present, think past:
"I wish I knew the method right now."
Here I am saying that if I were able
To demonstrate something, I'd show you how.

For past situations, think past perfect:
"I wish I had known the secret back then."
Whatever the secret was, this means
That I didn't know it way back when.

"I wish she were able to join us today."
"We wish we had a million bucks."
"I wish you had been at the game with us."
"He wishes he hadn't said, 'That *****!'"

When "wish" expressions are used with care
And modeled for others to hear and read,
We say exactly what we mean,
And that is marvelous indeed!

-by Bob B (6-11-24)

It happened here in America:
If over our history books one pores,
He or she will find that ****
Sympathizers were on our shores.

Back in the 1930s and 40s,
While Naziism was on the rise
In Europe, there were Americans
Who eagerly bought into ******'s lies.

Henry Ford was one who had
Ideas we would call extreme.
He often spoke of the "Jewish threat"
And sympathized with the **** regime.

Charles Lindbergh also expressed
Racist beliefs. He was a critic
Of entering into a war against ******
And held views that were anti-Semitic.

Charles Coughlin,° a Catholic priest,
Spoke out loudly against the Jews.
Using radio waves, he reached
Millions with his pro-fascist views.

Philip Johnson°° was linked to Coughlin.
Fascist ideas were right up his alley.
He wrote anti-Semitic pieces
And went to many a **** rally.

Even Walt Disney attended some
Pro-**** meetings before the war
And gave a tour of his studio to
A **** director. Hmmm. What for?

The **** propaganda machine
Spread its misinformation here,
And law enforcement agencies
Were reluctant to interfere.

One goal was to keep the U.S.
Out of the war, for ****** knew
That if America entered the war,
He'd likely lose World War II.

The other goal: to cause the people
To bathe in their anger, so to speak,
To turn the people against one another
In order to make the country look weak.

Now that we have the Internet,
Propaganda can spread even faster.
And when it comes to creating chaos,
We know that Vladimir Putin's a master.

What should we do? Become informed,
Keep our eyes open, and stay alert.
Letting propaganda destroy us
Is a disaster we MUST avert.

-by Bob B (6-8-24)

°He was known as "the radio priest" and was a mass media demagogue.
°°An architect and active supporter of ******'s Third ***** and even as of 1964 said ****** was "better than Roosevelt."

What is this world coming to?
Sometimes I can't believe my ears.
When it comes to ludicrousness,
We are encountering new frontiers.

Mike Johnson° has told us that
Republicans value the rule of law.
However, for a very strange reason,
Their grasp of it has a major flaw:

The rule of law is important to them
When they can use it on others, you see.
But if the law is directed at them,
They want complete immunity.

Johnson has placed two House members,
Ronny Jackson°° and Scott Perry,°°°
On the Intelligence Committee.
Now try to tell me THAT'S not scary.

Demoted from admiral to captain,
Jackson has proved to be a skunk:
One, for mistreating his staff members,
And two, for treating patients while drunk.

Perry's appointment is more bizarre,
For he had had a strong connection
With plots to ignore election results
And with the Capitol insurrection.

That Johnson has placed these two men
On the committee has to defy
Reason, for now they will be
Overseeing the FBI!

A Black House member, Byron Donalds,°°°°
With his MAGA fiction in tow,
Said that Blacks were much better off
During the Jim Crow era! Whoa!

And one more thing: Trump says since
He's been accused of "alleged" crimes,
Because he's a victim, Blacks love him,
For they have suffered through difficult times.

My goodness! What is going on?
With all this crazy nonsense transpiring,
It appears that in these Republicans,
Synapses in their brains are misfiring.

-by Bob B (6-7-24)

°Current Speaker of the House
°°Republican representative from Texas
°°°Republican representative from Pennsylvania
°°°°Republican representative from Florida

This is my fourteen-hundredth poem
Published on my blog so far.
My inspirations are almost endless--
Sort of like an open bar.

I'm going to quote myself this time
By using almost to the letter
Lines that come from my twelve-hundredth poem.
It's hard to say it any better:

I've "published" my poems on various sites,
Which, as I said, include my blog.
"For me, my poetry collection
Is almost like a travelogue--

"A mental travelogue depicting
My thoughts traveling to and fro."
I'm never certain where my thoughts
Will take me. "I just go with the flow.

"Today might be a little visit
To a place called 'Hypocrisy-land.'
There you'll find politicians
Who have gotten out of hand.

"Tomorrow might take me to a place
Where I spend a lot of time--
A place where animals can talk
And anecdotes are put to rhyme.

"To outer space my mind might travel;
Or out to explore nature's wonders.
Perhaps I'll take a nostalgic trip
Or write about people's triumphs or blunders."

Climate change, current events,
"Unknown figures, people of fame,
Likable folks, and miscreants, too,"--
All these topics become fair game.

Religion is not off-limits, for I
Detest religious hypocrisy,
The ways religion is misused,
And the dangers of a theocracy.

Sometimes I'll write a poem that could
Be sung to a melody of my own;
Or maybe I'll write a poem that could
Be sung to a song that is well known.

"Eschewing ambiguity
Or language rich in metaphor,
I find that a simple, conversational,
Straightforward style suits me more.

"To many poets, poems that rhyme
Are--according to them--passé.
Although it has its limitations,
Rhyming for me is here to stay."

The quoted lines are what I wrote
In December 2021.
Writing continues to be a challenge
That's stimulating, exciting, and fun.

So when it comes to poetry,
I don't want to be myopic.
I maintain that anything
Imaginable can be a topic.

-by Bob B (6-5-24)

Sadly, we can see that in Congress,
Republicans still have a bone
To pick with Dr. Anthony Fauci.
They CANNOT leave him alone.

As much as the doctor has tried to do
To save Americans' lives
During the recent COVID pandemic,
Ignorance still thrives.

Far-right extremists in the House,
Instead of legislating,
Are wasting energy and time
Being nauseating.

It's really hard to listen to
Their baseless accusations,
Paranoid, nonsensical rants,
And ludicrous speculations.

They won't admit that they've been wrong
And even say they're sorry
For persecuting a doctor whose
Reputation is starry.

Instead, they'll put their trust in a man
Who said that viral infections
Could perhaps be treated if we
All took bleach injections!

Because of all the senseless attacks
That have taken place,
Dr. Fauci has received
Death threats from Trump's base.

Let's elect people to Congress
Who wisely use their positions
To focus on laws that help all people
And not just the politicians.

-by Bob B (6-4-24)

Donald Trump, convicted felon…
We know it's power for which he thirsts.
Craving attention, he's also managed
To earn for himself a number of firsts:

The first U.S. president
Impeached by the House, not once but twice!
(He always has to one-up himself.
For MOST presidents, just ONCE would suffice.)

The first former president
Tried and convicted on thirty-four counts!
(While ONE would be enough for most,
We know how much he loves AMOUNTS.)

The first convicted felon running
For the office of U.S. president!
(How many firsts can this man handle--
This New York/Florida resident?)

Our justice system is catching up
With Donald Trump, and it's about time.
For many years the man's been able
To get away with crime after crime.

But once again he'll play the martyr--
Especially now that he's been convicted--
Even though his constant troubles
And suffering are self-inflicted.

Thirty-four counts! But wait, for there
Are more indictments. Will there be
More convictions down the road?
We will have to wait and see.

-by Bob B (5-31-24)

-Confusion-
Whether or not you seek glory,
Whenever you're writing a story,
You'll know on the double
That you're in big trouble
If you confuse "hoary"° with "whorey."

°definition: old and trite

-Grammar-
It's really quite shocking to me
When speakers of English can't see
What they convey
Whenever they
Use "him" when they ought to use "he."

-Subjunctive-
They say the subjunctive° is dying.
If I said, "Who cares?" I'd be lying.
If I were you,
I'd do what I do:
Perfect it! At least I'd keep trying.

°The subjunctive mood expresses wishes, suggestions, demands, or desires.

-Past Participle-
To another thing I must ask "Why?"
To the past participle, say "Bye!"
Why don't folks give a ****
When they say "We have swam,"
"He has ran," "I have drank"? My, oh, my!

-Past Perfect-
The past perfect tense I can tell
Can cause people problems as well.
Some folks abuse it;
Some just don't use it.
Use "had" with the past par…. Ah, hell!

-by Bob B (5-28-24)