Our spirits hover over the rubble--
Here and there a school or dwelling,
An abandoned camp or a hospital--
Targets of constant Israeli shelling.

We see our bodies within the debris--
Along with our siblings, our fathers and mothers,
Doctors, teachers, journalists, medics,
Aid-workers and many others.

We see the doctors desperately
Treating the injured with few supplies.
Cries of anguish and pain fill the night
As rockets carry more bombs through the skies.

While Palestinians are under attack
And tens of thousands of people have died,
The world wastes its time debating
"IS it or ISN'T it genocide?"

"Ethnic cleansing"--whatever you call it--
Is ****** on a scale that is grand.
It's Netanyahu's excuse to commit
Atrocities in the "holy land."

A fantasy of the "chosen people"?
Thousands of years of tribal strife,
Blood, ******, vengeance, violence…
Lies in the scriptures come to life.

Countries supplying Netanyahu
With deadly weapons, have you no shame?
Have you lost your sense of compassion?
In what he's doing, you share the blame.

Our spirits hover; our sadness lingers.
We yearn for the madness and killing to cease.
We yearn for an amicable resolution.
Will we be able to rest in peace?

-by Bob B (4-16-25)

I no longer recognize
These United States.
In my lifetime, we've never been
In such desperate straits.

Due process for many folks
Is widely being denied.
We are seeing the Constitution
Being cast aside.

The power-hungry president
Constantly tries to extort
Favors from others and threatens them if
He doesn't get their support.

The rule of law is currently being
Eroded by the hour
To give the demented president
Authoritarian power.

Trumplicans watch him defy the courts,
And they're okay with it.
He could spit in their faces, and yes,
He'd get away with it.

He treats the DOJ as though
It's his private firm,
And AG Bondi wants to make
Trump's dissenters squirm.

The envy of the world was our
Economy when he
Ascended the throne, but now the mess
He's making is sad to see.

He doesn't care if people might suffer
From a Trump recession.
Doesn't he understand that tariffs
Worsened the Great Depression?

Trump and his administration
Will not back away
From trying to have control over
What we do and say.

His many executive orders are being
Challenged, but he doesn't care.
He derives great Schadenfreude
From other people's despair.

"America the Beautiful"
Is now a different song.
It's lyrics must reflect what is
Occurring. Sing along:

How sad it is to see this land
Become what it's become!
The president looks down on us
As though we're worthless ****.
America! America!
Please say it's not too late.
Democracy? Autocracy?
Oh, what will be our fate?

-by Bob B (4-12-25)

If you listen, you will hear
The sounds of discontent
As the people join together to
Defy the president.

We meet to send a message to
The one who would be king,
Who only pays attention to
The sounds that go ker-ching.

You'll see us on the sidewalks
And in parks and city squares,
As we say we are tired of being
Controlled by billionaires.

The president thinks it's okay
To do whatever he wants.
He knows that Republicans
Will fear his jeers and taunts.

Every effort is being made
For people to be erased
From history. The government
Is doing it in great haste.

We watch as many people now
Are forced to live in fear.
They try to live their daily lives;
Then BAM! they disappear.

They're sent off to prison that
Is in a far-off land.
How people can put up with this
Is hard to understand.

The DOJ's being weaponized.
Trump says it's required
That anyone not loyal to him
Be canned, be ousted, be fired!

Needless tariffs are raising prices;
People are losing employment.
The pain we suffer seems to add
To Musk's and Trump's enjoyment.

Our health's in greater jeopardy;
Our safety's less secure.
If we don't fight, however will
Democracy endure?

If you love America,
Speak up! Make a fuss!
No for tyranny! Yes for freedom!
March along with us!

-by Bob B (4-8-25)

Our economy is a mess.
What else would anyone expect?
Experts say that Trump's huge tariffs
Will have a devastating effect.

Millions of people are hitting the streets.
Wall Street folks are feeling grim
As they acknowledge that Donald Trump
Is someone who runs the country by whim.

When Trump was reelected to office,
The nation was in excellent shape
Economically, but now
Economists watch with mouths agape.

Will Trump listen to experts? No!
He, instead, has made it clear
That if you are a conspiracy theorist,
You will surely have his ear.

The wackier you are the better;
Your crazy theories are your tools.
Therefore, we have quickly become
A country run by dangerous fools.

Republicans in Congress could stop him.
But, no, they'd rather toe the line
And do what their puppeteer makes them do.
How can one live without a spine?

As workers are being fired from their jobs
And prices rise, there's no remorse
From Trump who's merrily playing golf
On his Florida golfing course.

He keeps doubling down on his tariffs
And says they are a beautiful thing--
A stupid comment to make; however,
He doesn't care, for he's the king.

-by Bob B (4-7-25)

The Ten Commandments on public buildings?
How does that not violate
Our Founding Fathers yearning for
The separation of church and state?

Still it's occurring across the country
In numerous states by folks who demand
That Christianity, of course,
Be blatantly given the upper hand.

Condemn such in-your-face proposals.
Religious freedom it is not.
It's ignoring the Constitution
Through a crafty religious plot.

And charging American taxpayers
To fund our country's religious schools?
It violates the First Amendment,
Thus breaking established rules.

The Ten Commandments? Then why not post
Muslim and Buddhist precepts that dwell
Within the hearts of many folks,
And lines from the Bhagavad-Gita as well?

And speaking of the Ten Commandments,
By the way--yes, the sum of them--
We have watched with no surprise
As Trump has broken every one of them.°

-by Bob B (4-4-25)

°Even killing? Consider how many people have died because of his disastrous policies and responses to public health crises.

Vandalizing people’s Teslas
Is wrong, terribly wrong,
Even though Musk sticks his nose
Where it doesn’t belong.

Instead, protest at dealerships
With messages loud and clear:
We are sick of Musk's involvement,
And we will persevere.

Trump has given him carte blanche
To ravage our country. We need
To stop these onslaughts on agencies
Because of far-right greed.

DOGE--Department of Greed and Evil--
Has gained access to
Personal records. Think of all
The damage it could do!

The little DOGE whippersnappers
Are also going after
Non-federal agencies!
This is no cause for laughter!

All the damage that they are doing
Is going to be hard to fix.
While people suffer, the president
And Musk are getting their kicks.

Find a protest nearest you.
Let your voice be heard.
Fight to save democracy,
And meanwhile spread the word.

-by Bob B (4-1-25)

Humpty Trumpty,
You have some gall.
Humpty Trumpty,
One day you'll fall.
Fawning supporters
And your business men
Will not put you back
Together again.

Humpty Trumpty,
Your sinecure
You think will last.
Don’t be so sure.
What you are asking
We simply won't do.
We bet they'll all be
Decisions you'll rue.

Humpty Trumpty,
What a con game!
Humpty Trumpty,
Have you no shame?
Stop all this talk of
America first.
Of human beings
You're CLEARLY the worst!

Humpty Trumpty,
You'll hear the call.
With great relief,
We'll watch you fall.
And even your lackeys
Who give you support
Will soon be saying,
"We'll SEE you in court!"

-by Bob B (3-31-25)