Welcome back to Trumplandia, folks.
The people have decided
To put a man in the White House who wants
To keep the country divided.

Trump's more pompous, more brazen than ever--
Expecting all to kowtow.
If you thought he was bad before,
He's Trump on steroids now.

He is trying to micromanage
The country. That's his goal:
To stifle dissent and pressure supporters
To give him total control.

Filling federal agencies
With sycophants, he knows
He'll obtain undying support
From his Trumplican schmoes.

History is currently being
Rewritten. Say good-bye
To safeguards of democracy.
They're in short supply.

You say the country isn't racist?
Stop and look around.
Project 2025
Is getting off the ground.

Diversity has now become
A practice to assail.
You will get more privileges
If you're white and male.

Agencies must have the approval
Of Trump's administration
Before they are allowed to release
Pertinent information.

The concept of being fit for positions?
That's not Trump's concern.
It's ALL about WHAT you can do for him
Or how much money you earn.

Many folks now live in fear
From one day to the next
Of being deported when Trump's anti-
Immigrant muscle is flexed.

Trump knows how to manipulate people--
How to control and deceive them.
He knows that if he repeats his lies,
His people will believe them.

So welcome back to Trumplandia, folks.
If you're a tried and true
Bigot, racist, or xenophobe,
This is the place for you.

-by Bob B (1-26-25)

If other people said all the things
That Trump says, they would find
Themselves being carted away, for we
Would think that they had lost their mind.

But no, for some unhealthy reason,
Trump will say whatever he wants--
Whatever comes to his evil mind:
Jeers, untruths, attacks, and taunts.

He makes huge issues out of nothing--
Thinking he is Cool Don--
Instead of solving important matters
That we need to focus on.

He's still obsessed with trans issues,
Although trans people represent
A tiny percentage of folks in this country.
But Trump prates on and won't relent.

How can his fans sit there and listen
To all the lies of the Great Pretender?
He tells them their kids can go to school
And come home later a different gender!

When I hear him spout such nonsense,
I cannot help but utter an oath.
Anyone who believes such crap
Has to be crazy or stupid, or both!

-by Bob B (1-24-25)

Strongman Trump has pardoned his thugs.
All along that was his plan.
It's hard to contain one's disgust for such
A vile, shameless, malevolent man.

The thugs had stormed the Capitol.
Because of them, people are dead.
They weren't tourists spreading their love
As Trump in their defense has said.

Many were violent criminals:
Seditious conspirators--bold and proud--
Along with vicious cop assaulters.
Malicious vandals were there in the crowd.

We know that Trump has always had
The lowest standards for pardons ever.
Have we ever seen such a horrible
Abuse of the pardon power? Never!

Clemency for all these thugs?
He's just appealing to his base.
He says it's far too cumbersome
To study the matter case by case.

If any thugs want tours of the Capitol,
Lauren Boebert is taking calls.
Maybe they can show her where
They wiped their feces on the walls.

We hear that Trump has also invited
Some to the White House. Wouldn't you say
That THAT is a slap in the face to the injured
Officers who were there that day?

Strongmen pardon supporters who will
Perpetrate violence on their behalf.
"He thumbed his nose at democracy"
Should ONE day be Trump's epitaph.

-by Bob B (1-23-25)

Oh, how sad! Too many voters
Refused to listen to the warning.
Because of that, this day this year
Should be a national day of mourning.

We mourn the loss of what we know
Has truly made our country great,
For now we have a person in charge
Who wrote the playbook on how to hate.

A whiny child who cannot handle
Criticism. THAT is he.
If you want to work for him,
You MUST declare your loyalty.

He's no less vicious, no less selfish,
No less shameless, no less crass.
He loves how Zuckerberg, Bezos, Musk,
And others line up to kiss his ***.

He says he stands for unity.
Do people really think he has changed?
His speech and actions show that he
Is no less divisive, no less deranged.

Watch as Trumplicans fall in line
And cave in to his ruthless threats
As he lays out his disastrous agenda,
Vindictive and vengeful, with no regrets.

Amazingly, there are voters
Who think the man was heaven sent!
A pathological liar and felon
Should not be our president!

And so we grieve for America.
What will it take to ease our fears?
What will it take for hope to return?
How will we get through these next four years?

-by Bob B (1-20-25)

Why do many religious folks
Tend to get their feathers ruffled
If people say they are atheists?
Why should atheists have to be muffled?

Atheists are often considered
The devil incarnate or evil unveiled.
They are attacked, their lives are threatened,
They're ostracized and even jailed--

Done in the "name of God," of course.
Oh, the reasons that people give
In countries all over the world where people
Refuse to practice "live and let live"!

Do we need a god to tell us
How to live or how to behave?
If I blindly follow dogma,
Don't I become religion's slave?

Constantly seeking, questioning,
Observing, expressing healthy doubt,
Exploring the many facets of life,
Discovering what life's about,

And learning how to sift through all
The knowledge that we humans have gained
Will help us put more focus on
Issues that can be explained.

Some things, yes, are inexplicable,
Mystifying, beyond our knowing.
A question we must ask ourselves
Should always be "Am I still growing?"

There ARE religious people who aren't
Threatened by what others believe.
Secure in their beliefs, they aren't
Fearful, brain-washed, and naïve.

They do not judge nonbelievers
And tell them they are going to hell.
Tempering their beliefs with love
Is what they do so very well.

And then there are the ones who feel
Compelled to express their condemnation.
They need to mind their OWN business
And worry about their OWN salvation.

If you as a nonbeliever are asked
Your position, a way to convey it
Is merely "I'm an atheist
And I am not afraid to say it."

-by Bob B (1-17-25)

We read that Jesus was a Jew--
A Palestinian Jew.
He was a poor itinerant preacher
And far from well-to-do.

A Jewish god was thus, of course,
The one to whom he prayed.
Not all, but many Jewish laws
Were ones that he obeyed.

He walked around with twelve disciples--
Also Jewish men--
Who, I guess, were probably
Considered "born again."

The twelve disciples felt he was
The Jewish Messiah, though he
Wasn't exactly what most Jews
Thought the Messiah would be.

To them the Messiah would be a hero
Whose praises they would sing
For being both a peacemaker AND
A powerful, conquering king.

The Jewish Messiah was going to bring
Justice to the land.
The strong Jewish nation would then
Have the upper hand.

They thought that he'd restore the nation
To its former glory.
They needed a powerful leader who
Would fit in with their story.

How could Jesus be their Messiah--
A man so scorned and rejected?
He COULDN’T have been the Anointed One
Whom they had expected.

It really does seem quite ironic
And also very odd
How a rejected Jewish Messiah
Became a Christian god.

-by Bob B (1-12-25)

Today I got
My booster shot.
I never had
A second thought.
Two shots first,
Then THIS makes three.
No, COVID's not for me.

Hi ** the derry o!
Vaccinations work and so
I've known since long ago:
Getting sick is not for me.

My booster shot
Protects me now.
The scientists
Should take a bow.
Viruses
Aren't fun, you see.
So, COVID's not for me.

You MIGHT not want
To get your shot.
It’s hard to un-
Derstand why not.
Experts say
That when we do,
It's best for me and you.

If only all
Would persevere
To help make CO-
VID disappear!
We’re in luck
For we have got
A safe, effective shot.

Yes, herd immunity:
We know what that's all about.
Let’s stand in unity.
Get your booster shot and shout,
"Hey!
I got my shot today!"

-by Bob B (10-25-21)

°This poem could be sung to the melody of the 1940 song "I’ve Got No Strings" by Leigh Harline and Ned Washington for the Disney film PINOCCHIO. If you don’t know the song, check it out on YouTube. Knowing the melody helps with the rhythm of the poem.

(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.)