Months have passed, and now we're in
The very merry month of May,
And much to Trump's consternation,
Stormy° hasn't gone away.

Trump's attorney Michael Cohen
Has also gotten himself in a bind.
Now he's under investigation.
Just imagine what they'll find!

Stormy's lawyer, Avenatti,
After digging was able to unearth
Some pertinent and interesting
Information, for what it's worth:

Millions of dollars have flowed in and out
Of Michael Cohen's LLC.
It seems that access to Donald Trump
Doesn't happen without a fee.

Russian oligarch Viktor Vekselberg
Deposited a substantial sum,
Along with a few corporations.
A lot of people ask, How come?

Suspicious explanations abound,
Though we are tiring of the charades.
Is Cohen really an all-around expert
At everything--a jack of all trades?

Members of Congress say follow the money.
One says that without a doubt
Shake any tree in the forest of Trump,
And what do you know? a Russian falls out.

More dots are being connected,
Which to Trump must be a ******.
We've had a Stormy winter and spring;
Will we have a Stormy summer?

-by Bob B (5-10-18)

°Stormy Daniels (Stephanie Clifford)

Wise adults know the value
Of leaving foolish thoughts unexpressed.
Somehow that message has been lost
On rap singer Kanye West.

When mentioning the many years
Of suffering when the enslaved had to toil
And live in fear of whippings and lynchings
And **** here on American soil,

West has now made slavery
A topic to which he's given voice:
That it lasted for so many years
Means that it must have been a choice!

West claims that he's a freethinker.
Critics, of course, will disagree.
Anyone who knows the past
Would substitute "non" for "free."

If that's his desire for recognition,
He's found an odd way to gratify it.
What a way to promote an album!
Who the hell would want to buy it?

The singer, desperate for attention,
Is just like somebody else we know.
Money, fame, and power can turn you
Into a real so-and-so.

-by Bob B (5-7-18)

Trump said there would be no
Conflicts of interest. No siree!
That conflicts of interest have continued
Nonstop is plain to see.

Millions of dollars keep flowing in.
The company's bank accounts keep growing.
His snow job is SO convincing that many
Don't even see how hard it's "snowing."

Since January 2017
The RNC has spent more
Than 700,000 dollars
At properties owned by Trump; therefore,

It doesn't matter how much he says
That he has cut major ties
With businesses. He really hasn't;
It's all just a pack of lies.

Since he took office, political groups
And agencies have in fact
Spent 15.1 million dollars
At TRUMP properties! Caught in the act!

No matter what you want to call it--
No matter how you want to construe it--
You can make money from politics;
There are numerous ways to do it.

It shows what can happen when
The spirit is weak but the flesh is willing.
The office of the presidency
Can help a businessman make a killing.

-by Bob B (5-5-18)

A monk, Bhaddiya, was meditating
Long ago in India when
Some other monks heard him exclaim
"My happiness!" again and again.

Assuming that Bhaddiya lamented
The style of life that he had maintained
Before he gave up everything,
Donned his robes, and became ordained,

The other monks went to their master
And told him that Bhaddiya had sunk
Far below the standards required
To be a devout, righteous monk.

"Bring him to me," the master said,
Knowing full well the situation.
The puzzled monk entered the chamber
And bowed to his master in humble prostration.

The master asked, "Bhaddiya, were you
Repeating 'My happiness!' a while ago?
If indeed you were, dear friend,
Is there something that we should know?"

"Master," Bhaddiya replied, "at times
It's hard for me to contain my bliss.
There's absolutely nothing about
My former lifestyle that I miss.

"I was a statesman with power and wealth.
Servants and guards: there were so many.
But reasons to be happy? Well,
I had a hard time finding any.

"Though I had guards, I always feared
Someone would try to **** me and take
All my money and all my possessions.
There was alays so much at stake.

"But now I live in utmost freedom.
I have no fears; I feel…elated.
Never have I felt so happy--
So completely liberated!"

The other monks felt slightly ashamed.
How quickly they had jumped to conclusions!
How easily they had let themselves
Be caught off guard and trapped by illusions!

Bhaddiya had already learned his lesson.
Our ideas--he would confess--
Of what can make us happy can be
Obstacles to our happiness.

-by Bob B (4-30-18)

°An old tale retold here in verse

"It's an attack--an attack on our country,"
The president said. "It's a disgrace."
It's still amazing how he can say
The things he does and keep a straight face.

The Mueller probe's an attack on our country?
An attack on all we stand for? Say what?
Maybe if Trump had been honest and forthright
He wouldn't find himself in a rut.

What DO we stand for? Rule of law,
Search warrants, magistrates…
Where no one's above the law, not even
The president of the United States.

The president's idols--Putin, Duterte,
And Erdoğan--would never permit
Investigations into their own acts.
To strongmen it would NOT be legit.

To Trump a legal pursuit to find
Answers is a ruthless attack.
Yet Russia assaults our democratic
System, and Putin's a crackerjack!

Poor Trump just doesn't get it.
Whenever he talks, he more or less
Rubs salt in his very own wounds
And finds himself in a bigger mess.

-by Bob B (4-11-18)

This is the tale of an EPA
Administrator who
Has no shame at all about taking
Advantage of me and you.

We've seen him roll back fifty years
Of environmental protections;
That's bad for us but good for all of his
Oil and gas connections.

A costly, inflated security team
To fly with him overseas
24/7? That ought to make
Taxpayers ill at ease.

For him first class is a must when he flies;
To hell with flying coach.
He feels his team deserves the same
And thinks he's beyond reproach.

Better yet, he would prefer
Military jets.
So what if it costs us even more money;
He has no regrets.

When staff members question his spending
And wonder if it's required,
They will find themselves demoted,
Reassigned, or fired.

Receiving monetary favors
From lobbyists isn't proper.
He wants a bullet-proof SUV;
But here's the real showstopper:

Security staff admit that when he--
In order to catch his flights
Or go to dinner--will ask them to use
Their sirens and flashing lights!

A recent trip took him and his team
To Morocco, but alas,
Believe it or not, the reason was
To promote natural gas!

His attitude toward tax-payer
Dollars is cavalier;
But when it comes to helping the poor,
He is more austere.

So this is how Trump drains the swamp!
A funny way to do it.
But maybe he fits right in with the rest:
That's our man Scott Pruitt!

-by Bob B (4-6-18)

Over 2500 years ago,
In Kapilavatthu, not very far
From the Himalayas, Queen Māyā
Dreamed something that she found bizarre:

Clothed in flowers, she was paid
A visit by an elephant--lily white--
Bearing in its trunk a pure white lotus
That softly glowed in the moonlit night.

After circling her three times,
The elephant, such as she'd never seen,
Tapped her thrice on her right side
And then vanished inside the queen.

She shared her dream with King Śuddhodana,
Who summoned the Brahmins immediately
To hear the details of the queen's strange dream
And explain to him what the meaning might be.

"The queen will have a son," they said,
"And he will become one of two things:
A conqueror or a holy man.
We shall see what the future brings."

When the time of birth drew near,
The queen longed to visit the place
Where she'd grown up. Her caring midwife
Accompanied her just in case.

As they approached Lumbini Grove,
Her entourage smelled the scent
Of gardens of spices and blossoming trees
That formed a protective, natural tent.

The queen entered the grove and there
Between the blossoming sala trees
Gave birth to her son, Prince Siddhārtha,
While blossoms rained down in the gentle breeze.

According to some accounts, on that day
The ground shook and the trees swayed.
Joyous sounds filled the air
As soothing celestial music played.

As sweet tea fell from the clouds above,
The infant took seven steps and proclaimed:
"I alone am the World-Honored One"--
A title that he was later named.

Back to Kapilavatthu they traveled.
A few days later, Queen Māyā died.
Her sister, Pajāpatī, became
The prince's mother and the king's new bride.

Thus goes a wondrous version
Of a narrative that finds great worth
By beautifully combining legends
And written accounts of the Buddha's birth.

Fact and myth are interwoven
In many great figures from our past.
But true meaning transcends the records
And points to deeper truths that last.

-by Bob B (4-5-18)

°On April 8, many Buddhists around the world celebrate the birth of the historic Buddha. This poem was written to honor the occasion.

Two monks were kneeling by a river,
Washing their bowls in its gentle flow.
One rescued a drowning scorpion,
Which stung his hand before he let it go.

Finishing their daily ritual,
They were about to depart when
They noticed that the very same scorpion
Had fallen into the water again.

Once more the monk reached down,
Scooped up the scorpion with his hand,
And once more the scorpion stung him
Before he placed it on the dry sand.

The other monk questioned him:
"I know the scorpion's a living thing,
But why do you keep saving it when
You know its NATURE is to sting?

"I don't think I could give it
The kind attention that you gave it."
The first monk calmly looked at the other
And replied, "It's MY nature to save it."

-by Bob B (4-4-18)

°An old story retold here in verse

Dear Donald Trump, my friend,
I bet your patience is wearing thin.
Because of your democracy,
Investigations are closing in.

Since I can use my magic
To make people disappear,
Such investigative threats
Are never going to happen here.

From watching your revolving-door
Administration, I can see
That you, like me, expect one thing
Above all others: loyalty.

What is all this talk about
Ties with Russian oligarchs?
Don't your people realize that
Our bites are much, much worse than our barks?

Although I appreciate
What you did during your campaign--
The helpful steps you took to soften
Your stance on giving aid to Ukraine--

We still have a ways to go.
But one thing that I have to say
Is you have been good about
Respecting our little NDA.°

Lifting sanctions would be a big help.
I thought that maybe a good incentive
Would be our many ICBMs,
For you know we're very inventive.

But, no, let's not talk about threats.
If your cards are rightly played,
You will be as strong as I.
In other words, you'll have it made.

Ah, silence is golden, no?
One thing is sure as shootin':
I'd hate to have to spill the beans
'Bout you know what. Your friend, Putin.

-by Bob B (4-2-18)

°non-disclosure agreement

Eight shots hit Stephon Clark.
Once again the news hits hard.
Eight shots out of twenty or so
Brought him down in his grandma's backyard.

Helicopters circled above.
Police officers on the ground,
Suspecting Clark of a crime yelled out,
"Gun! Gun!" before he was downed.

Clark was holding NOT a gun
But a mobile phone. Officers said
The suspect charged at them before
They hastily shot the unarmed man dead.

But something is fishy: Six shots hit
The man in the back. By and large,
People do NOT normally
Rush backwards when they charge.

In retrospect, as we piece together
The flash of events that transpired,
We learned that after Clark had fallen,
Even more shots were fired.

Stephon Clark is another name
To add to an ever-growing list
Of unarmed black men killed by police
Whose actions cannot be dismissed.

Appropriate use of force is key;
But one thing is undeniable:
We simply can't allow ourselves
To justify the unjustifiable.

-by Bob B (3-31-18)

HOPE

The White House has lost its Hope.
Will Trump be able to cope?
Did she rhapsodize
His little white lies?
Is he at the end of his rope?

-by Bob B (3-2-18)

TRADE WARS

When Trump has a bad day,
All of us have to pay.
A trade war because
Of tariffs? Where was
His babysitter? Away?

-by Bob B (3-3-18)

DOSSIER #2

We hear that a SECOND dossier
Has recently come into play.
The word "collude"
Gains certitude
More and more every day.

-by Bob B (3-6-18)

HUH?

Some evangelical preachers
Prove to be rather odd creatures.
Judicious thought
Is something that's not
One of their outstanding features.

Although Trump's values collide
With theirs, they're still satisfied
That as chief of state
He'll make us great
For he still has God on his side.

-by Bob B (3-16-18)

TRUMP CONGRATULATES PUTIN ON HIS “VICTORY”

Advice often falls on deaf ears
As Trump crosses brand-new frontiers.
Best wishes to Putin
Don't make for smart shootin'.
He ALWAYS confirms our worst fears.

The man just cannot resist
Putin, who’s first on his list.
Will no one say why
Putin's his guy?
Melania ought to be ******.

-by Bob B (3-22-18)

DACA

Trump might seem to talk a
Great deal about DACA.
Often he’ll dare
To say Dems don’t care.
What a bunch of ****!

-by Bob B (3-24-18)

INTERVIEW WITH STORMY DANIELS

In Stormy's concise interview
Not much was revealed that was new.
Does IT seem to strike
You, too, that it's like
Experiencing déjà vu?

-by Bob B (3-26-18)

Hateful campaigns polarize
The public; salacious scandals abound;
Demagogues stir up the voters;
Vicious rumors are passed around;

Threats are made if one's opponent
Wins the race; fake news spreads;
Internal strife within the parties
Has the members at loggerheads;

Security leaks flow from the top;
Vitriolic accusations
Denigrate opponents; we hear
Of more and more allegations;

Threats are levied at the free press;
The masses suspect the educated;
Verbal assaults on the judiciary
Are brazen and unsubstantiated;

Fears of election fraud are raised;
Hypocrisy knows no end;
Little attention is paid to the truth
As people don't care whom they offend;

Candidates "pump the popular passions";
Hush money's paid; stories don't jibe
As lawmakers find themselves
Susceptible to paying a bribe.

It sounds like politics and elections
In America from what we've seen
Happening in the past few years
Leading up to twenty eighteen.

But this was also America
In the year 1800.  Since such
Chaos occurred back then as well,
It shows we haven't changed that much.

-by Bob B (3-30-18)

Tired of worn-out platitudes
("Guns don't **** people. No way.");
Tired, too, of empty excuses
("We can't talk about guns today.");

Tired of worthless thoughts and prayers--
("We feel for you in your pain.");
Tired of losing family and friends
As daily reports list the slain;

Tired of collusion: the stranglehold
Of the NRA on politicians
("You'll get the funds as soon as we
Coordinate our positions.");

Tired of the greedy gun industry
Whose sales of weapons leave a trail
Of blood and carnage and death and grief
As they promote a fairy tale;

Tired of ceaseless justifications
Proclaiming 2nd Amendment rights
And caustic attacks from the gun lobby
Whose acrimony has reached new heights;

Tired of spineless lawmakers
("You scratch my back, I'll scratch yours.");
Tired of easy access to weapons
Normally used for fighting wars;

Tired of shootings to a degree
Unprecedented worldwide;
Tired of constant hopelessness
With news of every homicide;

Tired of always being afraid;
Tired even of being tired,
Hundreds of thousands of students marched,
Ready to act and feeling inspired.

They breathed fresh life into
Our revolutionary spirit,
Assertively sending a message
To all Americans willing to hear it.

"No more!" "Never again!
That was their message, loud and clear.
"Enough is enough!" "I call BS!"
"End this senseless violence here!"

May the movement gather momentum!
May this be a watershed
Moment in modern times to help
Protect the living and honor the dead!

The March for Our Lives! They have a dream.
But much more work remains to be done.
Efforts to bring about major changes
In commonsense gun laws have barely begun.

-by Bob B (3-25-18)

As National Security Adviser
H.R. McMaster walks out the door,
A hungry hawk circles the White House.
Watch it dive; watch it soar.

The hawk has a name: John Bolton,
Conspiracy theorist of long standing;
Reckless, far-right ideologue.
In April the hawk will be landing.

Bolton, who's openly advocated
Preemptive nuclear war with two
Countries--Iran and North Korea--
Will glide in and land on cue.

Once a leading cheerleader
Of the war in Iraq, Bolton, whose theory
Is war first, diplomacy second,
Should cause the rest of us to be leery.

Pushing military involvement
And advocating change of regime
Would only encourage the president
To set in motion a dangerous scheme.

In 2013, Bolton uttered
Words that show where his loyalties lie
As he hailed the new era of freedom
In PUTIN's Russia! What a guy!

So Bolton nested near the president--
A man whose ego couldn't be bigger,
Who doesn't follow judicious advice
And has his finger on the trigger--

Makes the whole world feel uneasy.
How scary could things get?
Prepare yourself for turbulent times
Because you ain't seen nothin' yet.

-by Bob B (3-23-18)

Ah, Putin, you won again!
But nobody is really surprised.
How could you NOT win an election
When a system is compromised?

When major opponents are barred from running--
One jailed with false allegations,
The other dead, having been poisoned--
You can fulfill your expectations.

When you have control of the media,
It's rather easy to pull off a scam.
Anyone could be the victor
When an election is merely a sham.

A sham? Oh, dear! How could that be?
Could there have been ballot stuffing,
Intimidation, and voter coercion?
Did people know that you weren't bluffing?

A true test of popularity
Will not happen if you fear rejection
And set up a system that won't allow
The people to vote in a fair election.

-by Bob B (3-21-18)

(Written to the tune "On Top of Old Smokey")

When the weather gets Stormy,
What does Trump do?
He talks to his lawyer
And threatens to sue.

So he thinks that suing
Will give him relief?
That doesn't much flatter
A commander in chief.

To be a commander
Requires great skill.
Some people have it;
Some never will.

Will he keep hoping
This storm will not last--
That it won't show up in
Tomorrow's forecast?

Forecasts predict, though,
More storms on the way.
Maybe distractions
Will fill up his day:

He’ll tweet daily nonsense,
Anger more folks,
Fire more staffers,
Or start a new hoax.

The hoaxes he starts will
Stir up his base.
How does he do that
And keep a straight face?

He’ll have to face now
Another big storm.
For him Stormy weather
Is becoming the norm.

-by Bob B (3-19-18)

Secretary of State Tillerson's
Spokesman, Steve Goldstein was canned
For having told the truth. It seems
That truth in the White House is NOT in demand.

When Tillerson learned that he had been
Removed from office through a tweet,
Goldstein merely reported the news.
Trump found that indiscreet.

Andrew McCabe, Deputy
Director of the FBI,
Was also fired by Trump (through Sessions)
As circumstances intensify.

Trump has nurtured an ongoing effort
To unashamedly cast doubt
On FBI personnel
To one by one **** them out.

You can perform exemplary service--
Working your tail off year after year--
Investigate alleged wrongdoings,
And then find yourself out on your ear.

The president and some of his cronies
Have spoken before of an FBI purge.
When purges occur, we can watch
As autocrats' true intentions emerge.

In the case of McCabe we have seen
******* up charges become the excuse.
That after McCabe for months
Put up with Trump's verbal abuse.

A mean desire to humiliate?
A thirst for vengeance? Need we mention
That Andrew McCabe was fired two days
Before he would receive his full pension?

If Congress refuses to act, the only
Solution will come from the voting booth,
Where voters reject someone who'd fire
Officials for seeking or telling the truth.

-by Bob B (3-17-18)

Seventeen minutes of silence;
Seventeen balloons released;
Seventeen roses in loving
Remembrance of those now deceased.

Tens of thousands of students in schools
Across the country expressed their grief
And solidarity together
In what has become a recurring motif.

Americans by the millions
Increasingly are finding their voices--
Speaking out, demanding change,
Reminding us that we have choices.

Do we choose to do nothing
And cower before the NRA,
Or do we say enough is enough
And get this change underway?

Speak up: no more mass shootings
Or ****** bodies covered with sheets.
Demand real solutions and keep
Assault-style weapons off our streets.

In the age of never-ending wars,
Political chaos, corporate greed,
And out-of-control gun violence,
Our youth are planting a hopeful seed.

May that seed grow and flourish!
Meanwhile, read the names below--
The names of those who lost their lives
At a school in Florida one month ago:

Alyssa Alhadeff, 14
Scott Beigel, 35
Martin Duque, 14
Nicholas Dworet, 17
Aaron Feis, 37
Jaime Guttenberg, 14
Chris Hixon, 49
Luke Hoyer, 15
Cara Loughran, 14
Gina Montalto, 14
Joaquin Oliver, 17
Alaina Petty, 14
Meadow Pollack, 18
Helena Ramsay, 17
Alex Schachter, 14
Carmen Schentrup, 16
Peter ****, 15

-by Bob B (3-14-18)

The White House game of musical chairs continues.
Trump has once again a change of taste.
Rex Tillerson, who has been serving as his
Secretary of State, is being replaced.
The new appointee will be Mike Pompeo--
A sycophantic yes-man through and through.
Trump will soon have the cabinet he wants,
He says--in short, his loyal retinue.
Why always this constant change of heart?
Why not pick the right ones from the start?

The personal assistant to the president
Was walked off White House grounds without his jacket.
He must have done something pretty outrageous.
Take THAT political nut and try to crack it!
Serious financial crimes appeared
To be the cause of McEntee's removal.
But he now has a job on Trump's campaign;
So much he has the president's approval!
Such a move: could you call it smart,
Knowing what we know from the start?

House Republicans investigating
The Russia connection say the case is closed
Without having conducted a thorough query.
Their true motivations have been exposed.
How sad when our legislators' desires
To seek out truth and clarity are sparse,
And favoring Party over the American people,
They turn an investigation into a farce!
Republicans on the committee did their part
To sabotage the process from the start.

-by Bob B (3-14-18)

Tell me how a man--a real estate mogul,
Who brags about women he can ****** or ogle;
Who NOT through hard work but by using his fame
Rakes in the bucks from brandishing his name;
Who supplements his fortune by appearing on TV
And adds to his resumé: celebrity;
Who stiffs his employees, as many have noted;
Who riles up his base against the scapegoated;
Who breaks all the rules and who shoots from the hip,
And earned himself a zero in statesmanship;
Who criticizes others for breeches in security
But whose own practices are clothed in obscurity;
Who hides from the world his shadowy case history
And wants to keep his tax returns a total mystery--
How can this man--this New York resident--
Become a country's 45th president?

There’s trouble in America. That’s what they say.
There’s trouble in America. That’s life today.
There’s trouble in America. Something is broken.
There’s trouble in America. Let the truth be spoken.

Tell me how a man can pull in donations
Despite--give or take--nineteen accusations
Of ****** harassment--of ****** impropriety--
That normally would bring you shameful notoriety.
Women, immigrants, and others whom he blasted:
Why weren't more of them completely flabbergasted?
How could he lead a Party to victory
When his behavior is so contradictory?
White House jobs go to son-in-law and daughter;
He talks of friend Putin as though he walks on water.
How can a person con his way to the top
And "waist" so much money--excuse the malaprop--
Spending so much time at his posh golf resorts?
(Maybe he's making up for time he'll spend in courts.)
How many voters regret what they have done
Now that the blowhard is leader number one?

There’s trouble in America. That’s what they say.
There’s trouble in America. That’s life today.
There’s trouble in America. Something is broken.
There’s trouble in America. Let the truth be spoken.

Tell me how a leader can garner support
When it comes to honesty and he comes up short.
When you're pathological, how do you earn
Respect from ALL of the people that you burn?
If your administration has a racist flavor,
You cannot be doing justice a favor.
Running a country requires a lot more
Than being rich and famous and thriving on lore.
About his private life, most don't give a hoot,
But now he's in bed with NRA to boot!
As the Russia probe keeps digging deeper,
The mountain of evidence keeps getting steeper.
"Un-presidented" is what the man would write;
"Unprecedented" would be more erudite.
Scandal after scandal in the USA!
Madness is only one tweet away!

There’s trouble in America. That’s what they say.
There’s trouble in America. That’s life today.
There’s trouble in America. Something is broken.
There’s trouble in America. Let the truth be spoken.

Trouble in America…

-by Bob B (3-12-18)

This is a tale of a woman;
Stormy is her name.
One little fling with a fellow
Became her claim to fame.

She met a rich man in Tahoe.
He was married. So what?
It seems as though the rich golfer
Was there to do more than putt.

Stormy, the **** star, was
A wonder to behold.
He forgot about wifey
And baby a few months old.

(The little affaire de coeur
Doesn't mean that he's bad.
Some say he was bewitched;
Others would call him a cad.)

How long everything lasted,
Only the two will tell.
She claims it lasted for months
Before he said farewell.

Let's move ahead ten years.
The real estate mogul planned
To procure for himself the highest
Office in the land.

Somehow the mogul's attorney
Transferred a large amount--
One hundred thirty thousand--
Into her bank account.

'Twas money to keep her quiet--
Money to make her hush.
(When you've got money, you
Can afford to make people shush.)

The mogul became the leader;
But somehow the story leaked out.
Leader and lawyer were livid.
What had become of their clout?

A technicality
Nullified their deal--
According to Stormy's attorney--
So she had the right to squeal.

Both of the parties can now
Battle it out in court.
Let this be a lesson
Before you choose to cavort.

Just a warning, Stormy:
Don't let yourself get burnt.
Your episode was consensual;
It's said that for him others weren't.

We know, Mr. President,
You have a lot on your plate.
Is this one of your ways
Of making America great?

-by Bob B (3-9-18)

°This is a different version of the salacious scandal--this time in ballad form.

What has happened to America?
How did democracy get so diluted?
How could its people sit by and watch
Repeated attacks go undisputed?

The nation has had its ups and downs
Since it began--no denying.
We strove to work out the kinks in our system
With dreams and efforts that were undying.

Autocratic leaders were once
Looked at with both disdain and suspicion.
Currently, world dictators are
Receiving our leader's recognition.

White supremacists used to spread
Their vile hatred from out on the fringes.
The mainstream door--now open for them--
Has even been taken off its hinges.

Struggles for rights have gone on for years,
And yet they continue. The clock is ticking.
Though many thought he was dead and buried,
Jim Crow is alive and kicking.

At times in the past, we would protect
Our people through almost any means.
Now our children in schools are being
Massacred by AR-15s.

Knowledge and wisdom once were praised,
And facts used to be highly respected.
Critical thinking is dying while
The art of lying is being perfected.

The free press used to be valued--
A sign that our freedom was thriving.
Misinformed voices, calling it fake,
Now accuse it of being conniving.

Through the years we've heard talk
Of formulating built-in protections.
Now--completely out of control--
***** money determines elections.

Immigrants used to be welcome here.
They've made us strong--without a doubt.
Lately, people keep looking for
More excuses to kick them out.

No system's invincible;
Any system will face attacks.
Democracy can be vulnerable--
Especially if it has cracks.

-by Bob B (3-8-18)

A man, feeling distraught and empty,
Went to his teacher for sage advice.
He wanted answers immediately--
Answers clear, direct, and precise.

"Please help me!" pleaded the man.
"I feel lost. I'm in a jam.
I want to know my true self.
Can you show me who I am?"

The master didn't say a word.
He just silently looked away.
Three times the man repeated
His question, feeling utter dismay.

The master kept up the silent treatment,
Pretending not to be alert,
While the man displayed impatience
And grew indignant, annoyed, and curt.

Turning to leave, he realized
The anger in the room was his.
The master smiled and shouted out,
"Your true self? THERE it is!"

-by Bob B (3-7-18)

°A popular tale (source unknown) retold here in verse

They say a secluded monastery
High in the mountains was very strict.
How long a monk could withstand
The rigid rules was hard to predict.

Maintaining a vow of silence was part
Of the monastery protocol.
Every ten years the monks were allowed
To utter TWO WORDS. That was all.

After his first ten years, a monk
Went to his master and bowed his head.
His master asked to hear his two words.
"Bed…hard" was all that he said.

"I see," the head monk replied.
The young monk bowed, left the room,
And then returned to finish his tasks--
The grounds as silent as a tomb.

Ten years later the young monk appeared
At his master's door, eager to say
Two more words. "Food…stinks"
Was all that he could say that day.

"I see," the head monk replied.
Ten more long, silent years passed.
The no-longer young monk returned
To utter his words at long last.

This time he said, "I…quit!"
"Well," said the master with a look of disdain,
"I understand why you'd want to leave;
All you ever do is complain."

-by Bob B (3-6-18)

°A story (source unknown) often told in Zen Dharma talks, retold here in verse

As word spreads across the country,
The Never Again movement expands;
And while that happens, one thing is clear:
We have a huge fight on our hands.

The NRA, which represents
Gunmakers and NOT gun owners,
Lately has become one of
Our politicians' principal donors.

When Wayne LaPierre° and Marion Hammer°°
Envision more guns on the street or at school,
The two of them--like Pavlov's dogs--
Smack their lips and start to drool.

Working hard in Florida
To avoid commonsense regulations
Of guns, gun lobbyists are
Expanding their base of operations.

Congressman Matt Gaetz,
Also lives among the ones
In some bizarre fantasy world
Where the solution is always more guns.

Pushing the NRA agenda,
They say, "Get rid of gun-free zones."
Their logo ought to be an assault
Weapon over a skull and crossbones.

Although he speaks out of both sides
Of his mouth, the president never balks
When dealing with the organization.
We know how loudly money talks.

Praise to the Never Again movement!
There will be a moment of truth
When more and more voters decide
To battle it out in the voting booth.

Meanwhile, the NRA
Will let its appalling message be spread,
While the weapons industry takes
Potshots at the graves of the dead.

-by Bob B (3-5-18)

°Vice president of the NRA
°°NRA lobbyist

A farmer had an *** on his farm
That wasn't having a very good time.
The *** hated the meager food,
Hard work, and overall grime.

It begged Zeus to deliver it
To another boss. Zeus then sent
Hermes down to talk to the farmer
To bid him to sell the malcontent.

Sold to a potter, the *** soon learned
That working for him was a bigger chore.
It found the work to be ***** and even
Harder than it had been before.

It asked Zeus to find it another
Boss, so Zeus in a sarcastic manner
Arranged for the *** to be sold again--
THIS time to the local tanner.

When the *** realized
Its new boss's trade, it cried,
"Woe is me! Why wasn't I
More content--more satisfied,

"With my first bosses, who would have buried
Me decently. And frankly that
Would have consoled me somewhat, but now
I'll end up in a TANNING VAT!"

Moral?

Learning how to appreciate
What we have is hard to master
Until we're stuck with a boss or leader
Who happens to be a total disaster.

-by Bob B (3-4-18)

°An Aesop tale retold here in verse

SECURITY CLEARANCES

Rules at the White House...Who reads them?
Proper procedures...Who heeds them?
Security clearances
Make scant appearances.
The attitude is: Who needs them?

-by Bob B (2-20-18)

ON ****** MISCONDUCT

Trump says you just have to say,
“I didn’t do it,” and they
Will blame your accusers
And call them all losers.
That’s life in Trumpworld today!

-by Bob B (2-21-18)

GUNS

More GUNS in our schools, Trump swears,
Will STOP the school shootings. He dares
To repeat what the vice pres
Of the NRA says.
They're BOTH lacking something upstairs.

-by Bob B (2-23-18)

HIRING THE BEST?

We know that Trump knows how to fire ‘em,
But how does his conduct inspire ‘em?
Three of his men
Are felons now. When
Will HE ever learn how to hire ‘em?

-by Bob B (2-23-18)

REFORM

Gun-law reform will crash
If Trump believes that it's rash.
The gun lobby's puppet
Will never give up; it
Is hard when you count on their cash.

-by Bob B (2-24-18)

In the White House recently,
Reality made a strange appearance:
The president's son-in-law, Kushner,
Lost his interim security clearance.

After fourteen months in the White House
Around classified info, the kid
Saw no FULL clearance, so
The FBI must know what he did.

And then we hear that businesses
Owned by Kushner received loans
After White House meetings with
Execs. Suspicious overtones?

The loans were in the tens of millions.
Does anyone see a problem here--
A problem of conflict of interest between
A puppet and a puppeteer?

Nearby, the Secretary of HUD,
Dr. Ben Carson, happened to get
For his office a 31,000-dollar,
Fancy, new dining room set.°

This for a person who speaks out
For he has warned us in the past against
Making the lives of the poor too rosy,
Not to make housing for the poor too cozy.

So nepotism, conflicts of interest,
Hypocrisy…What else can we say
Is adding to all the chaos we see
Happening in Trumpland today?

-by Bob B (3-1-18)

°After a sizable public backlash, Carson later cancelled his dining room set order.

Caution! Watch out for Russian bots.
They're out there to deceive you.
Share if you will the messages,
But who do you think will believe you?

Bots show up on the screen of your phone,
Your tablet, or your computer,
And if you're on to their tactics, they
Resemble a pesky suitor.

Suitor? No, more like a stalker--
Disruptive and insidious--
Whose sly, deceitful game plan is
Destructive and invidious.

Recognizing the bots in social
Media isn't so hard.
But many a Twitter or Facebook fan
Is frequently caught off guard.

The bots are extremely useful for
Encouraging disconnections.
They've also proved to be handy for
Influencing elections.

Putin will say, "Bots? What bots?"
Ah, but he's a sly one!
If he can strengthen a road to disruption,
He will fortify one.

Hazards of our computer age:
Troll farms and bots,
Causing frustration and trying to
Manipulate our thoughts.

-by Bob B (2-28-18)

When we think of heroes or heroines,
Role models, mentors, or all of these combined,
The name WILMA RUDOLPH is one
That definitely should come to mind.

Wilma was born in 1940,
In Tennessee, the Volunteer State.
As a child she had polio and wore
A brace on her leg until she was eight.

They had to travel a distance to seek
Medical help because of a lack
Of services for folks in their town
If the color of their skin was black.

But Wilma was able to beat the odds
With inner strength and determination,
Along with physical therapy,
Hard work and dedication.

While still in high school in '56,
Winning became her newly found theme
As she won a bronze medal
On the US Olympic team.

Later, back in school holding
Her medal in the air for classmates to behold,
"Skeeter" (which was her nickname back then)
Said that her goal was to go for the gold.

In 1960, at the summer games
In Rome, Italy, the world would see
Wilma win not only ONE gold medal,
But the "fastest woman in the world" won THREE!

The first American woman to win
Three gold medals in track and field
At a single Olympiad, Wilma
Let her expertise be revealed.

One of the most popular
Athletes at the games in Rome,
Wilma became a superstar--
A status which followed her back home.

She then decided to teach and coach
And run a community center. Her name
Would shine along with the others in
The US Olympic Hall of Fame.

To Wilma, reaching your goal meant
You had to work hard--to persevere.
Her stamina guided her to become
A civil and women's rights pioneer.

Wilma succumbed to cancer in the year
1994, but she
And her inspiring life continue
To live on in our memory.

-by Bob B (2-27-18)

Seventeen people lost their lives
At a high school on Valentine's Day
In the city of Parkland, Florida.
Students and teachers, by the way.

Yesterday at Pompano Beach
The last victim was laid to rest
Of the seventeen killed at the school.
Oh, how far we've progressed!

For meanwhile, a so-called preacher
In Pennsylvania made a plea,
Asking couples to bring to church
Their AR-15s to be blessed, you see.

Whenever there's an incident,
From out of the woodwork lunatics spring.
So now at church they're blessing guns?
Crackpots will bless anything!

Insensitivity knows no limits
When humankind's ignorance rages.
Is this the twenty-first century,
Or are we living in the Dark Ages?

-by Bob B (2-26-18)

Goliath tormented the Israelites.
Accepting his challenge for most was an error,
For many lost their lives, while the giant
Continued to boast and spread his terror.

Fearing the Champion of the Philistines,
Saul was baffled and at this wits' end.
Knowingly sending men to their death
Was not an easy task to defend.

David, a lad in his teens perhaps--
Confident that he could win--
Offered to take on the giant himself.
Reluctantly, Saul gave in.

"Take my armor and sword," said Saul,
"Which you'll require in order to succeed."
"I have my sling and my rocks," said David.
"My will is the only weapon I need."

The towering giant gazed down on the youth.
"A curse on you!" was all that he said.
David brought him down with some stones
Slung from his sling; then chopped off his head.

For the Philistines, the table had turned,
For now--ha!--it was their turn to fret.
Without their giant, they'd lost their power.
No longer did they serve as a threat.

Goliaths out there, watch out for Davids.
Don't think that you have unlimited power
To spread your threats, your fear, your control.
Our Davids will show you your final hour.

-by Bob B (2-25-18)

Never again! Chant with us:
Never again! No more!
Let your urgent demands echo
From north to south, from shore to shore.

Never again must we suffer
From ****** massacres at our schools.
Whoever thinks that thoughts and prayers
Suffice only takes us for fools.

We are tired of candlelight vigils
Held at our schools to honor the dead.
We refuse to tolerate
Living in fear of another code red.

When we're offered a bill of goods
That shootings come with the territory--
That stricter laws have no effect--
We are out to change that story.

We refuse to accept a world
Where shootings have become the norm.
We will support lawmakers who
Advocate gun-law reform.

Doing nothing leads to nothing.
Despite our loss, hope survives.
Put an end to living in fear.
Join us as we march for our lives!

Another school massacre here
Must NOT be a question of when.
The only response that we accept
Is Never again! Never again!

-by Bob B (2-22-18)

Ignore for a moment talk of obstruction
Of justice, conspiracy, or collusion,
And focus on one inexplicable
Fact from which to draw a conclusion.

Despite the proof that Russians meddled
To a great extent in our last election--
Despite the indictment of thirteen Russian
Nationals--Trump's undying affection

For Putin and Russia never wanes.
Knowledge of troll factories and bots,
Hacking into voting machines,
And voter disruption and other plots,

Keeps expanding day by day.
And yet there's NO condemnation
Or mention of punishment as a response
To widespread election manipulation.

Is Trump so compromised by the Russians--
A critic asks--is HE one who'll
Easily fall for blackmail, or is
The man merely a "towering fool"?

Trump can criticize everyone else
In senseless, ungrammatical tweets--
Immigrants, athletes, women, the justice
Department, critics, and DC elites--

And yet Russia is fully off-limits.
Apparently, Putin can do no wrong,
Despite the fact that evidence
Of ongoing election meddling is strong.

It's serious when our elected officials
Cater to our adversary
And the biggest threat to democracy
Sits in the Oval Office. Scary!

-by Bob B (2-20-18)

Please don't ask me to pray for victims
Of shootings. IF you do I'll refuse.
You THINK you mean well, but praying is merely
A politician's sham, a ruse,

A strategy or way to skirt
The issue that's sadly become a disgrace:
The problem of gun violence here--
Something that’s staring us in the face.

Don't ignore the matter and then
When there's a shooting ask me to pray,
While you accept money from gun
Lobbyists and the NRA.

Do not mouth obsequious chants,
Pretending your interest is on the level,
And then act shocked and horrified
After you've made your pact with the devil.

Do not quote the Constitution,
Insisting you know the writers' intentions,
When it's clear that our failed system
Is badly in need of interventions.

Don't make it easy for people to get
Assault-style weapons and bump stock devices,
Supporting the gun industry at
The cost of human sacrifices.

Action--not prayers--is what we need.
Commonsense solutions. Again:
Action. But if praying's your thing,
Ask to become AWARE. Amen!

-by Bob B (2-18-18)

Twenty-oh-six was a good year for Trump--
A fifth child, some love affairs.
We could go into greater detail
But maybe that would be splitting hairs.

Did we say that the little flings
Both took place during his marriage?
I guess certain institutions
Are fair game to flout or disparage.

Two ladies--a ***** star
And an ex-******* bunny--have stories,
Both of which put them in
Slightly different categories.

Both ladies received hush money
During the presidential campaign
In different ways, but nonetheless,
Silence is sometimes hard to maintain.

Despite substantial payoffs, Trump
Denies the affairs even occurred.
But people wonder how many more
Times he's said, "Mum's the word."

How the president wants to define
His marriage--we must reiterate--
Is up to him. Hopefully it's
Appropriate for a chief of state.

We also think that a president
Should be sincere in matters political
And not live a double standard
And act in a manner that's hypocritical.

For white evangelicals
Trump's behavior undermines
Nothing, for didn't Solomon
Have three hundred concubines?

-by Bob B (2-17-18)

Stormy is back in the news,
Looking for better reviews.
It wouldn't be keen
Not to come clean
On something she couldn't refuse.

People say Trump's a bit harried;
It all happened after he married.
'Twas just a short fling;
No promise, no ring.
But big plans for silence miscarried.

Trump's fine attorney then later,
Serving as negotiator,
Paid Stormy a sum
To make her stay mum
And said, "Good-by, alligator."

As **** star, Stormy might brag
About any man she might snag.
Her story and pix
From twenty-oh-six
Came out this year in a mag.

Attorney and Trump both deny
That anything happened. Then why
Did both of them feel
That Stormy would squeal,
And give her the dough on the sly?

We hear now that Stormy is saying
Their pact to stay silent is fraying.
She blurted out, “Halt!
The lawyer’s at fault.
No longer will I be obeying.”

Stormy is sly, people say.
To some she's a Morgan le Fay.
She said to the press
That she'll take her dress
And test it for Trump's DNA.

It seems as though only Trump's base
Completely ignores his disgrace.
When he is errant
And so **** transparent,
How can he keep a straight face?

Perhaps we will find that no doubt there
Will be more to scribble about. There
IS one suggestion:
Bring up the question
Of how many "Stormys" are out there?

-by Bob B (2-16-18)

A day of love, a day of hearts:
Valentine's Day, twenty eighteen.
The day started out like any other
But ended in a horrific scene.

Students in Parkland, Florida,
Shared their valentines today.
A former student entered the school
To celebrate in a different way.

An AR-15 assault-style rifle
Was that student's valentine.
Killing and hurting students and teachers
Was his version of "Please be mine."

All it takes is a single person
To drag a special day through the mud.
Roses and hearts with Cupid's arrow
Lie on the ground, splattered with blood.

Are we failing our people here?
When shootings occur, we ask for prayers
Instead of taking appropriate measures.
What a sad state of affairs!

Most of us enjoy our day;
Our lives return to normal tomorrow.
Valentine's Day for people in Parkland
Forever will be suffused with sorrow.

-by Bob B (2-14-18)

United States intelligence chiefs
Announced the need for further protections
To keep intrusive Russian hackers
From interfering in future elections.

During our previous election, U.S.
Agents uncovered meddling tracks
Involving multi-faceted
Russian-inspired cyber-attacks.

There's been NO decrease in activity
All this time. What does that mean?
It means to expect more tampering
In mid-term elections in twenty eighteen.

Some people's ears are deaf to the threat.
Instead of acting, they choose to doubt it.
President Trump and his team so far
Have chosen to do nothing about it.

When it comes to Putin and Russia,
Trump refuses to make a fuss.
Fool us once, shame on Russia,
Fool us twice, shame on us!

-by Bob B (2-14-18)

When John Kelly joined team Trump,
Becoming the president's Chief of Staff,
Many thought he'd be the one
To separate the wheat from the chaff--

To rein the frenzied president in
Or guide him when he's out of line.
If those were the expectations,
So far there has been no sign.

Instead, the man basically
Promotes Trump's nativist dreams;
Obnoxious tweets continue to flow
From Trump's phone in steady streams.

Lying to back the president's lies,
Kelly has lost all credibility.
Calling Rob Porter a man of honor,
Shows less strength and more servility.

A man of greatness, pride, and conviction
Needn't resort to subterfuge.
The once-honorable general
Has now become the president's stooge.

-by Bob B (2-13-18)

Devin Nunes and fellow Republicans
Certainly had their hands full
When they composed a controversial
Memo that was basically bull.

Nunes' cherry-picked assertions
Were assembled to malign
The FBI and also to lay
The groundwork for firing Rosenstein.

Trump was advised not to release
The memo but did it anyway,
Nervous because the Mueller probe
Is closing in day by day.

Before Trump had even seen
The Nunes memo, he avowed
He would release it, which in turn
Would do his Republican lackeys proud.

The Democrats have sent to Trump
Another memo for release--
One that rebuts the Devin Nunes'
Attack-memo, piece by piece.

But what? Trump won't release it?
All of a sudden we all learn
That national security
Is the president's major concern.

So Russian meddling in our elections
Is not a serious issue, and yet
A memo rebutting misinformation
Is a major security threat?

"Release the memo!" messages
Won't be sent out by Russian bots
To help you, Dems. They are waiting
For Nunes to write more devious plots.

The more Trump has tried to resist--
The more he's covered up facts and lied--
The more it seems so obvious
That there is something he's trying to hide.

-by Bob B (2-10-18)

Frederick Trump°--we know of him.
What about his son Fred--
The father of Donald J,
Whose reputation is now widespread?

Fred started out fairly young
Building houses and apartments in Queens.
Later forming a company,
He soon became a man of means.

In 1927 Fred
Attended a parade on Memorial Day--
One that just happened to have been
Organized by the KKK.

Police arrested Fred, for they
Had told him to leave; instead he stayed.
Was he an innocent bystander
Or a participant at the parade?

1954 proved
That controversies weren't disappearing.
Fred was investigated
For wartime profiteering.

Later tenant Woody Guthrie
Accused him of stirring up racial hate.
(The Trump family always seems
To have something to litigate.)

In 1973 Fred
And son Donald faced accusations
Of unfair treatment of blacks--in short,
Of civil rights violations.

So bad blood between the Trumps
And the DOJ has a history.
Thus, Donald J's attack
On the justice system is not a mystery.

Both sides claimed victory,
But father and son hated the fact
That they were told to acquaint themselves
With the current Fair Housing Act.

(Funny, but we can see a pattern
In watching the president's evolution.
He also has difficulty
Understanding the Constitution.)

Fred suffered from Alzheimer's
The final years of his life. What's scary
Is the possibility
That maybe it's hereditary!

When looking at grandpa, dad, and son,
Very few would disagree
How they bring to life the saying:
The apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

-by Bob B (2-6-18)

°Born Friedrich

Surrounded by hype, Devin Nunes
Scripted his daily reality show,
While flurries of words on right-wing TV
Gave the viewers vertigo.

The "memo" was the talk of the land.
"Release the memo!" was the rage.
Conspirators wanted to prove wrong-doing--
Biased treatment of Carter Page

And bias toward the president.
Creating a specious storyline
From FBI reports, Trump's
Lackeys attempted to undermine

An ongoing investigation.
All it did was fall with a thud.
Despite Sean Hannity's ranting and raving,
The memo proved to be a dud.

Combine conspiracy theory news,
A cherry-picked narrative filled with holes,
Eagerly manipulated
Believers and Russian bots and trolls,

And you have a farce of epic proportions--
A bucket of chaos, filled to the brim.
As John McCain so wisely put it:
"We're doing Putin's work for him."

-by Bob B (2-3-18)

"Dear Vladimir Putin, my friend,
Thank you for your ongoing support.
You know I'm really going to need it
If I somehow land in 'court.'

"Keep bombarding social media;
Expand the use of all those bots.
But definitely cover your tracks,
For people will try to connect the dots.

"You know how I--one of your fans--
Highly respect your strongman appeal.
You've perfected your talents there,
As I the art of making a deal.

"I like the way you ******* dissent;
You've got the people under control.
I'm NOT there yet, but give me time.
It remains my overall goal.

"Poisoning my opponents? Well,
Maybe I wouldn't go that far.
But you and I together can think of
Other techniques, tzar to tzar.

"Right now the investigation
Here is really driving me mad.
I want to fire Mueller but need
Grounds completely ironclad.

"Maybe you can help me there.
I'm sure for you it's worth a try:
Help my kiss-*** Republicans
Vilify the FBI.

"I'm trying to follow your media playbook
On how you limit opposing views.
I'm able to spread a lot of untruths
On MY station called Fox News.

"My efforts to trick the religious right
Have been clever and not at all shoddy.
Even though we both know there's
Not a religious bone in my body.

"By the way, you don't have
Tapes of me when I was there
In Russia, do you? You know the kind:
Tapes of me in my underwear.

"Remember the word sanctions, my friend.
We can lift them--buh-lieve you me--
If all the tapes of me disappear.
Your friend, Donald T."

-by Bob B (1-31-18)

Obstructing an investigation
Is really easier than one thinks.
Surround yourself with fawning fans
To help you work out all the kinks.

It helps if you can early on
Fire the head of the whole shebang,
And then sully his reputation
With every subsequent harangue.

Build distrust in the FBI
So when the people hear those initials,
They'll remember how you impugned
The credibility of law officials.

Spread the fear that a secret society,
Cleverly organized and malicious,
Is out to get you, even though
In reality, it's fictitious.

Let your "friends" in Congress create
Alternate scandals that detract
From your investigation, even
Though they are not based on fact.

A news station that has the least
Credibility helps a great deal--
One that pedals conspiracy theories
With unabashed passion and zeal.

Undermine investigative
Efforts by frequently causing confusion,
And then repeat ad nauseum
"No collusion! No collusion!"

Using some Stalinesque techniques
Helps your cause, and once you've begun,
The people, too, will call the media
Public enemy number one.

Having power will make you feel
That you possess unlimited choices.
If democracy gets in the way,
Keep on trying to quiet voices.

All of the strategies listed above--
If they're mercilessly applied--
Will come in handy, especially
If you have something to hide.

-by Bob B (1-25-18)

You did it again, Senatorial
Democrats. How naïve!
You keep falling for the tricks
McConnell has up his sleeve.

Long ago a funding bill
Could easily have been sent--
One with bipartisan support--
To the president.

Republican leaders chose, however,
To play a game, and that's
How they let a shutdown occur
And then blame Democrats.

True, the president's wishy-washy
Feelings aren't always clear.
It doesn't help when bigoted voices
Are whispering in his ear--

Voices of Kelly, Steve Miller,
Iowan Steve King,
And Tom Cotton from Arkansas,
All with a racist sting.

And so for now the fate of the Dreamers
Is a question mark.
You think McConnell won't continue
To leave them in the dark?

McConnell waits--like Lucy with her football--
For you to run up and kick it.
Will you fall for the trick again,
Or tell him where to stick it?

-by Bob B (1-23-18)

If Trump wants to read Fire and Fury
I would suggest that he hurry.
The next exposé
Will be more risqué
And give him more reason to worry.

Was Donald Trump feeling forlorn,
And afterwards did he feel torn,
From having a fling
And feeling like king
With one of the hot queens of ****?

If Bannon would do what he oughtta,
He'd check out his list of errata,
For now he has learned
How it feels to get burned
And be Trump's persona non grata.

From watching the news on the tele
We're seeing much more of John Kelly.
Our first thoughts of him
Were not quite so grim,
But he's become Machiavelli.

Trump was really obsessed
With proving his mind was the best.
His cognitive exam
Was probably a sham,
And most people are not impressed.

A leader went out on a limb
And joined a new fitness gym.
"Forget it!" he said.
"I'd rather be dead.
To hell with me being slim."

-by Bob B (1-21-18)

Loudly the Muses sing out a tale:
The President and the **** Star.
They sing about qualifications and how
Much a leader can lower the bar.

Their voices resound as they tell the story
That happened ten years before he became
The president. Though married he was,
Marriage to him was just a game.

Four months after his fifth child was born,
The man--a celebrity--had his fling.
Did his third wife know? The Muses
Haven't told us everything.

Feeling outrage overload,
The public merely said, "Just one
More story to add to a growing collection.
The man was just having some fun."

If the celebrity had an adventure,
If he had his little affair,
That was his choice--his decision.
Frankly, the Muses really don't care.

When money became involved in the matter,
It gave the story an added dimension.
Hush money paid to the star?
That's what attracted the Muses' attention.

A payment of one hundred thirty thousand
Dollars went to the **** star's account
Before the election to keep her silent,
The importance of which was paramount.

With so many songs to sing, the Muses
Inspire us to listen, to learn,
To grasp the art of living, to seek
The beauty of truth, for which we yearn.

Keep singing, Muses. Follow the money.
Point out hypocrisy, fraud, and deceit.
What more can your songs reveal?
The truth should never become obsolete.

-by Bob B (1-19-18)

We hear the sounds of approaching thunder
Drowning out the cries and pleas
Of people calling out for freedom--
Urgent calls in times like these!
March!

We hear the words that spit and sputter--
That splatter against mellifluous sounds
Of peace, of hope, of promise, of caring,
Creating verbal battlegrounds.
March!

We see the dark and threatening clouds
Looming above, waiting to rain
On love and reason. The winds of hatred
Equal the force of a hurricane.
March!

We see around the neck of compassion
A cruel, ever-tightening noose,
While the henchmen multiply--
A surge of bigotry on the loose.
March!

We feel in our hearts the constant longing
For dreams that should be guaranteed
By thoughtful laws and not by decisions
Forged from ignorance, power, and greed.
March!

We feel the sadness, pain, and despair
Of all who are trampled and left behind,
Of all whose rights are being denied,
Of all who are hated and maligned.
March!

We know that we can transcend bias;
When myth prevails, wisdom departs.
We can flourish by wisely removing
The chains of intolerance from our hearts.
March!

We know that we have the potential
To live in a country governed by laws
Embracing all the people here
And freeing us from tyranny's claws.
March!

March to demonstrate solidarity
With others who hear the urgent call.
March together in peace for social
And economic justice for all!
March!

-by Bob B (1-31-17, 1-17-18)

*This is an update and reposting of my Jan 2017 poem.

Certain Republican members of Congress
And White House staff have of late
Had a lot of difficulty
Keeping their made-up stories straight.

Senators Graham and Durbin reacted
When Trump referred to "*******" nations
And thus disparaged Salvadorians,
People in African countries and Haitians.

But Senators Perdue and Cotton
At first said they weren't aware
Whether the president said the word
And tried not to get caught in the snare.

A couple days later they said, NO,
He didn't say "*******" at all.
How convenient: this sudden change
Of mind from nothing to sudden recall.

After that they changed their stories.
It wasn't "*******" but instead
The word was "*******." Yes, that was
What President Trump had said.

At first Trump didn't deny it,
But later said his language was "tough."
(But we've heard what comes out of his mouth
Whenever he speaks off the cuff.)

What difference does it make?
The word isn't the main point here.
Attitude, racist feelings,
And lack of respect are very clear.

Once they lie, they have to keep lying--
They have to keep plugging away.
As their stories change, the liars
Look more foolish every day.

-by Bob B (1-17-18)