You think you're healthy and in good shape.
Cholesterol is low.
Blood pressure is not a problem.
You've got some get-up-and-go.

You go on a daily four-mile walk.
You eat as well as you can.
Fruits and vegetables are both
Part of your daily plan.

Yes, you like your sweets; you feel
Life must have some perks.
You try to balance the good with the bad
And always hope that it works.

Avoiding stressful debt, you live
Comfortably in the black.
And then without any warning, what happens?
You have a heart attack!

Life we know is full of surprises.
Expect the unexpected.
It's strange how a problem with one's heart
Could long go undetected.

The help from paramedics and doctors
And nurses--I can say--
Has given me a new lease on life,
For I am alive today.

A stent in a major artery lets
The blood flow near the heart.
I hope that no more blockages
Will show up in my chart.

Although our bodies are strong and resilient,
It is also said
That despite our resiliency,
We hang by the thinnest thread.

I hope my ticker keeps on ticking,
Displacing some of my fears;
And may the beats continue to sound
For many, many years.

-by Bob B (4-2-23)

(For some reason, I found this poem in my DRAFTS. I guess I hadn't "published" it for public eyes, and it sat, along with 25 or so of my other poems, in my DRAFTS folder until today. Sorry about the delay.)

Donald Trump and Elon Musk--
And this, of course, is no surprise--
Continue to spread misinformation
And hope that we believe their lies.

Now it's about the devastating
Fires raging through L.A.
We are hearing attacks and blame
From Trump and his new protégé.

Musk is blaming the Dems and "wokeness"
And thus is throwing fuel on the flames;
Trump is stupidly misleading fans
By making false, inaccurate claims.

The two men rely on a place
Where lies and misinformation abound:
The Internet--now a perfect
Conspiracy theory breeding ground.

Fact-checking is crucial now
More than ever as Trump distracts
The public with his verbal garbage
And Musk with his alternative "facts."

-by Bob B (1-10-25)

How can we ignore what happened
On THIS dark day four years ago?
Let us paint it as though it were
Depicted in the style of Van Gogh:

The painting must show emotional depth
To clearly demonstrate its sadness.
The brush strokes, wide and wild,
Should display the utter madness.

To show the anger--not love--apply
Thick and intense globs of red,
Which will also represent
Brutality and blood that was shed.

Apply bright streaks of yellow color
To focus on the cowardly thugs--
There as insurrectionists
And NOT there to pass out hugs.

The Capitol should be depicted
From different angles. That represents
All the absurd conspiracy theories
Believed by all the malcontents.

The paint? Of course, make sure it's thick
To show the thickness of the lies
That Trump and his supporters have told
To make us NOT believe our eyes.

Swirling strokes should indicate
A stark but vivid intensity
Of violence, for which Trump's mobs
Have a scary propensity.

The composition should guide the viewers'
Eyes to see the overall truth--
And NOT to be taken in by those
With tactics questionable and uncouth.

Now stand back; observe our painting.
We must never ever let
The horrors of that day become
A bagatelle that we forget.

-by Bob B (1-6-25)

An odd prayer to say at bedtime--
Especially for the children's sake--
Is one that has them saying each night
"If I should die before I wake."

“Die before I wake”? Oh, no!
That is not a comforting thought—
That all my efforts to live and breathe
This very night could come to naught?

So when the kiddies say the prayer
"Now I lay me down to sleep…,"
Just imagine all the thoughts
That into little heads might creep:

Thoughts rekindling many fears--
Of ghouls ******* out their breath,
Of monsters crawling out of the closet,
Of countless things that might cause death.

And after that, while the children's
Imaginations are on a roll,
They think that from a distant place
A "lord" is going to take their soul.

How can that be comforting?
Wouldn't something life-affirming
Be much more appropriate
And not have little bed goers squirming?

Something giving them joy and hope,
Something that will help them thrive
And learn to appreciate the world
And thus feel lucky to be alive?

Are little ones still saying that prayer?
Are there parents who still demand it?
I guess that one would have to be
A praying sort to understand it.

Now I lay me down to sleep,
I hope I won't be counting sheep.
Let's ALL have pleasant dreams instead,
And wake up glad that we aren't dead.

-by Bob B (12-31-24)

When Santa returned to the slushy North Pole--
Effects of global warming, you see--
He sat down in his old recliner,
Sighed, and muttered, "Oh, dear me."

Mrs. Claus--who had been in bed--
Entered the room and felt distressed
To see her hubby in such a state--
So disconsolate and depressed.

She offered to make him a cup of hot coffee--
Something that Santa would never refuse--
As he wrote lyrics to what he called
"The Merry Little Christmas Blues":°

"I don't like what's happening to Christmas;
It's just not the same.
It's now so
Commercial that it's such a shame.

"I don't like what's happening to Christmas;
Gone are peace and joy.
I now fear
For every little girl and boy.

"Wars rage on bringing suffering
All around the world. So sad.
Many folks follow autocrats.
Oh, I think the world's gone mad.

"If the people will not say good-bye to
Hatred, war, and greed,
I fear that compassion cannot intercede.
Compassion's what all people in the world need."

That's what Santa sang to the missus,
And she--poor lady--started to cry.
Santa then repeated two stanzas
While gently wiping a tear from his eye.

"Wars rage on bringing suffering
All around the world. So sad.
Many folks follow autocrats.
Oh, I think the world's gone mad.

"If the people will not say good-bye to
Hatred, war, and greed,
I fear that compassion cannot intercede.
Compassion's what all people in the world need."

"I'm sorry, my dear," said Mrs. Claus,
"But your sad song is making me weep.
You have had a busy night.
Go lie down and get some sleep."

-by Bob B (12-28-24)

°Santa wrote his lyrics to a blues version of the melody to "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas."

The House has released an official report
On Matthew Gaetz, former member.
The special, unwanted Christmas gift
Was given to him this December.

Accused of having obstructed Congress
And violated House rules,
Gaetz apparently thinks that he
Can do no wrong and we are fools.

If you ask some members of Congress
To share the impression that they have had
Of Gaetz since they have gotten to know him,
They would say that he's a cad.

They learned that he paid thousands of dollars
For drug use and also for ***.
Can he deny the evidence?
I wonder if he paid with checks.

That isn't all, of course, for Gaetz's
Shocking list of infractions gets finer:
On top of everything else, he's been
Accused of having *** with a minor.

And this is the guy that Trump had wanted
To be AG! Not surprising,
For Trump would very likely think,
"Oh, he's merely womanizing."

Gaetz admits that he's sent "funds"
To women he has dated. I see.
Whatever he calls it, it sounds as though
He was paying for *** to me.

-by Bob B (12-26-24)

We will have a new president,
And no, it won't be Donald Trump.
Actually, it's Elon Musk--
Trump's newest sidekick-chump.

It's Elon Musk--the money man,
And one for whom Trump has the hots--
Who will be the one in charge.
Musk will now be calling the shots.

When you're the richest man on Earth,
You can do whatever you want.
Flash your money at Trump and you'll
Be his newest confidant.

The richest man on Earth can also
Use his money to threaten those
Who do not do his bidding or who,
Instead of ayes, will give him noes.

Interestingly, Elon Musk
Wasn't even born in the States
And legally couldn't run for office.
What kind of nonsense now awaits?

Privatization is his goal.
Social programs are under attack.
If he and his cronies get their way,
Consider how far they'll set us back.

Now that Musk is in Trump's ear,
Trump will be the titular head,
But President Musk without a doubt
Will be running the show instead.

Musk has wormed his way to the top;
The consequences could be huge.
I wonder how long their friendship will last
And which one of them is the other one's stooge.

-by Bob B (12-21-24)