"Where be these enemies?"
Asks the Prince. Can he defuse
The bitter, violent feud between
The Capulets and the Montagues?

How sad it is when we observe
How human hatred seems here to stay,
And years and years of antidotes
Of love aren't able to wash it away!

And when we see the tactics used
By some to make America great,
We see the consequences of
The "scourge that's laid upon [our] hate."

The cruel dehumanization of people
Does not bring the people together.
It merely unites a certain group,
Or angry mob--birds of a feather.

The misrepresentation of facts--
Of pulling the wool over people's eyes--
Only perpetuates all the hatred
With a cacophony of lies.

By seeking enemies constantly
In other people, we tend to forget
That "all are punished" because there is
A deeper, darker, more dangerous threat.

"Where be these enemies?"
That's the question we have to pose.
And so it's hatred within our hearts?
There, you've hit it on the nose!

-by Bob B (10-11-24)

Socrates, the professor cat,
Loves to teach and lecture.
Whether he gets his point across
Is sometimes merely conjecture.

When left alone for a period of time,
He'll meet you at the front door
Where he will greet you on your return
And also give you what for.

"Excuse me," he says in his feline way,
"But you would be obtuse
If you failed to see that your actions
Border on cat abuse.

"Yes, we're independent, BUT
Frankly, my dear, you seem
To want to exploit our autonomy
By taking it to the extreme."

He lectures for quite a while, for he
Wants you to do your best
When the time approaches for you
To take another test.

"You know we value promptness," he adds,
"And I don't mean to be rude,
But when our dinner is not on time,
We're NOT in a very good mood.

"Research, you know, is vital and your
Failure to study impedes
A total understanding of what
Constitutes our needs."

He constantly tries to teach you patience
And thinks your dedication
To knowing his mind for both of you
Is a win-win situation.

If you misplace something, such as
Your watch, your keys, or a ring,
He'll stare at you as if to say,
"Oh, you poor, poor thing."

When you're frazzled, his calm demeanor
Implies that you at least
Would benefit from the study of ancient
Wisdom of the East.

He likes to observe from afar as you
Go about your activities,
Ever watchful to see if you are
Developing harmful proclivities.

At other times he just sits back
To see how much you've learned
And tries to silently calculate
How much praise you've earned.

If he desires a tasty treat
And thinks that you're withholding
Something from him, you'd better watch out:
You'll be getting a scolding.

Admonishingly, he says, "Do NOT
Think my methods nefarious,
It's just that learning broadens your being.
Take it from THIS Sagittarius."

You think you're one step ahead of him--
At least so you assume.
But Socrates will let you know
Who is teaching whom.

-by Bob B (2-16-20)

Look upon the ocean horizon
And tell me what perchance you see.
"I see a ship that's bringing enslaved
People to toil in the land of the free."

This happened over and over again.
Tell me: did black lives matter then?

I see families weeping together.
Ask them why? What did they say?
"They said their loved one was lynched by a mob
Who call themselves the KKK."

This happened over and over again.
Tell me: did black lives matter then?

Why are those people spitting on
Those kids seeking better schooling?
"They don't like the idea of
The country's integration ruling."

This happened over and over again.
Tell me: did black lives matter then?

Why are police using whips,
Tear gas, and clubs on marchers? Take note!
"Ah, they are demonstrators
Marching for the right to vote."

This happened over and over again.
Tell me: did black lives matter then?

Many people seem upset.
What might be the explanation?
"Disproportionate figures of
Brutality and incarceration."

This happens over and over again.
When so, do black lives matter then?

Some people say “All lives matter,”
But all lives haven't for hundreds of years.
Stop rivers of hate and injustice
That empty into an ocean of tears?

-by Bob B (6-9-20)

It's sad when people lie about you
And say that you said what you hadn’t said.
One would think that they should have
Better things to do instead.

What is it that makes them so?
Do they really believe their lies?
Or is the truth beyond their reach--
A thing they don't even recognize?

Do they feel so desolate?
Are they so insecure within?
Are their lives so out of sorts--
An imbalance of yang and yin?

It doesn't make me angry. Not really,
When they are so mendacious…disjointed.
If I feel hurt at all,
It's mainly because I'm disappointed--

Disappointed that they don't see
How their actions reflect on them
And NOT on the people whom they choose
To lie about, malign, or condemn.

And so I wonder if they'll ever
See the error of their ways
And maybe be able to turn their unkind
Comments from calumny to praise.

-by Bob B (3-26-24)

A lot of English speakers today
Have difficulty with "lie" and "lay."
When we are talking about reclining,
"Lie" is the word that we're defining.
Your English teacher might give you a frown
If you say, "I am going to lay down."
"I'm going to LIE down" is what it should be.
"Lay" requires an object, you see.
Confused, people often ask why
"Lay" has to be the past tense of "lie."
That is partly what makes us confused
And also explains why the words are misused.
"All day last Monday I LAY in my bed."
But people will slip and say "laid" instead.
Remember, the past tense of "lay" is "laid":
"I LAID my coat on the bench in the shade."
Silly example I know; I'm just trying
To make a point. And NO, I'm not lying.
Now when you are using "lying" and "laying,"
The same rules apply. Do you hear what I'm saying?
"She's LYING on top of the quilt right now."
"We're LAYING our coats on the bed." Somehow,
With just a little effort we'll get it,
And it won't confuse you if you don't let it.

-by Bob B (10-1-21)

COVID-19 is here! We have to
Do what we can to slow its spread.
Failure to act appropriately
Will mean scarier times ahead.

Experts say the mortality rate
Of the flu is zero point one percent;
COVID-19 is ten times worse.
Someone, PLEASE tell the president!

It's also NOT something that we
Control through travel bans,° they say.
Testing is crucial. South Korea
Tests 10,000 people a day!

Have bureaucratic snags prevented
Testing here? If testing is key
To help suppress the spread of the virus,
And others can do it, why can't we?

Identify and isolate.
We need more tests and on the double.
If health systems are overburdened,
We will be in a heap of trouble.

Yes, we have to "flatten the curve"
And practice precautions to the letter.
Still, the situation is going to
Get much worse before it gets better.

One thing we've learned: Trump and his cronies
Had stifled many efforts to contain
The spread of the virus by carrying on
Their reckless disinformation campaign.

Clear, honest messaging
And not a suspicious, distrustful inaction
Is what we need; otherwise,
You're going to dislike the coming attraction.

-by Bob B (3-12-20)

°At first experts disagreed as to the effectiveness of travel bans--especially arbitrary travel bans.

(This poem can be sung to the melody of "Strangers in the Night," by Bert Kaempfert, Charles Singleton, and Eddie Snyder)

COVID'S in the air.
It's so distressing.
Though we know it's there,
It keeps us guessing.
Keep avoiding crowds.
That's what is best to do.

Don't let down your guard.
Just keep on trying.
It is not that hard.
(And it beats dying.)
We must do our part;
The country counts on you.

We know droplets fall
When we talk and yell--
Especially aerosol--
When we laugh as well.
We have learned so much.
Safety is--as many say--
A scarf or simple mask away.

And since it's in the air
When we are talking,
And maybe lingers there
When we are walking,
We must all beware,
For COVID's in the air.

Safety is--as many say--
A scarf or simple mask away.

Since it's in the air
When we are talking,
And maybe lingers there
When we are walking,
We must all beware,
For COVID's in the air.

-by Bob B (7-12-20)

D.T.:
I'm sure by now you recognize
My wonderful expertise
Of stirring up my base by trying
To put their minds at ease.
If an issue threatens to cause
Danger or distress,
I'll just lie to my fans in order
To gain their faithfulness.

Oh, how I love my rallies
And how they make me feel!
Everyone wants to see me because
I've got crowd appeal.
COVID-19 won't stop my fans;
I defy it to try.
I can win in November even
If some of them have to die.

I deal with serious problems by using
A very special technique:
Ignore them and they will go away,
And DON'T appear to be weak.
If I wore a mask, well,
Then I'd have to admit
That there's a serious problem, and then
The market would take a hit.

Oh, how I love my rallies
And how they make me feel!
Everyone wants to see me because
I've got crowd appeal.
COVID-19 won't stop my fans;
I defy it to try.
I can win in November even
If some of them have to die.

Kim Jong Un gets hundreds of thousands
To praise him in the square.
Maybe they don't have a choice,
But, frankly, I don't care.
When the crowd before me cheers,
It fills my heart with glee.
They see me as their savior, and that
Is ALL that matters to me.

Oh, how I love my rallies
And how they make me feel!
Everyone wants to see me because
I've got crowd appeal.
COVID-19 won't stop my fans;
I defy it to try.
I can win in November even
If some of them have to die.

-by Bob B (6-26-20)

By keeping one's mouth shut, one might
Appear to be a stupid lout--
They say--however, by opening it,
The person thus removes all doubt.

That's a message that Donald Trump
Really ought to take to heart.
Often when he opens his mouth,
He comes off sounding not so smart.

Trump dismissed concerns about
His tariffs raising the price of toys.
And so when Christmas arrives this year,
Watch out, little girls and boys.

He says that kids this year might get
Just two dolls instead of THIRTY.
Once again, it looks as though
Trump is getting down and *****.

And, yes, those dolls are going to cost
A wee bit more, but that's okay.
Is the man entirely clueless?
What a stupid thing to say!

It sounds just like the comment he made
Regarding injecting ourselves with bleach.
He says the most ridiculous things
In every interview or speech.

Bringing and keeping prices down
Was part of his election campaign.
The nonsense we are going to have to
Put up with during the mad king's reign!

-by Bob B (5-2-25)

Josseli Barnica was a young mother
Who unfortunately became
The victim of laws in Texas denying
Women their rights. Remember her name.

This happened in 2021,
Even before the overturning
Of Roe v. Wade, and all of us
Should find Josseli's story concerning.

The 28-year-old pregnant mother,
Thrilled to be having child number two,
Learned that she was miscarrying--
Suddenly, and out of the blue.

Occurring shortly after Texas
Had passed strict abortion bans,
The incident reminds us that life
Doesn't always heed our plans.

The doctors faced a dilemma here.
The matter should have been routine,
But the new abortion laws
Made it a crime to intervene.

They said they wanted to help the patient
But told her that their hands were tied.
Because of their delay in treatment,
The young mother, Josseli, died.

Sepsis had taken the mother's life.
Abortion bans can sadly make
Pregnancies quite dangerous,
And many women's lives are at stake.

Lawmakers, are you happy now?
You SHOULD have been aware of the flaws
In your reckless attempts to control
Women with your draconian laws!

-by Bob B (10-31-24)

Malignant narcissists are dangerous people
With no concern for others—not a bit!
They require constant admiration.
If things don't go their way, they have a fit.

It’s a personality disorder,
And those who suffer from it have a dearth
Of sympathetic feelings and compassion
And have inflated concepts of self-worth.

They derive great pleasure when they lie
To get all that they want and have no shame
Employing any means on earth to have
Control of others, power, wealth, or fame.

Paranoid, they often say that they
Are being persecuted without proof.
Distancing themselves from social standards,
They tend to be standoffish, cold, aloof.

They can be obnoxiously aggressive,
And since they are so selfish, they, of course,
Eagerly abuse and hurt their victims,
And do it with no feelings of remorse.

You MUST have noticed that these traits appear
In someone who is hoping he will be
Living once again inside the White House.
The characteristics fit him to a T!

-by Bob B (9-26-24)

All would be quite different today
If we hadn't interfered
In Iranian politics
In the 1950s. What is weird--

Or maybe isn't when you consider
How the world functions--is how
What we did way back then
Is coming back to haunt us now.

Helping to orchestrate a coup,
Our CIA helped a man--
Mohammad Reza, the Shah--return
To be the leader of modern Iran.

The Shah moved the country forward,
But there was also a huge increase
Of harsh acts to stifle dissent
By the Shah's secret police.

The 70s brought a revolution.
The people rose up, and then voilà:
Iran became an Islamic Republic
And said good riddance to the Shah.

What we have now is a mess:
Iran wants to define its role
In the Middle East, while we have
A leader with no impulse control.

Ignoring possible repercussions
And thinking he knows so much more
Than all the experts, he could likely
Involve us in a senseless war.

A recipe for disaster? Yes.
The president MUST be stopped in his tracks.
A sense of diplomacy and brains
Are two important things he lacks.

-by Bob B (1-11-20)

LET'S all give three cheers for evolution.
Everybody, shout “Hip, hip, hooray!”
Because if it were not for evolution,
You and I would not be here today.

History-deniers keep on harping
About an argument called missing links.
Our fossil records clear that up, I tell them.
They're afraid to hear the truth methinks.

They don't like to hear that we are cousins
To other mammals in the world. The wimps
Cannot handle knowing that among
Our dearest, closest relatives are chimps.

"It's merely JUST a theory," they will say,
And make a face and grossly overreact.
"Because of all the evidence," I tell them,
"It's NOT a theory; it's, instead, a fact."

Around four hundred million years ago
Is when our ancestors so boldly crept
Out of the sea and made the land their home.
Is that so hard for people to accept?

We give ourselves a lot of self-importance
As **** sapiens, and that's absurd.
Just because our brains have gotten bigger,
We're not evolution's final word.

Molecular genetics is a wonder--
Something that we all should take to heart.
It can give us helpful information,
Such as when two species broke apart.

IF all living creatures are descended
From a single ancestor, then we
Share a close relationship with all.
The striking DNA code will agree.

We know the code itself is not what varies.
What varies is what's written in the code.
That's the actual genetic sequence.
I hope this doesn't make your head explode.

IF you think a god was the designer,
That's your business if that floats your boat.
"Intelligent" design is what they call it.
But that is not a view that I promote.

Preachers from their pulpits often challenge
Scientific facts and explanations.
They do not like natural selection
Because it doesn’t meet their expectations.

Although we're learning more and more each day,
Certain mysteries remain unsolved.
But look at all the beautiful and wondrous
Forms including us that have evolved.

So ONE more time: three cheers for evolution!
ONE more time let's shout "Hip, hip, hooray!"
If natural selection had not happened,
You and I would not be here today.

-by Bob B (3-8-25)

Shame on the Republicans--
Those who want to abandon Ukraine.
Shame on those who cater to
A Russian leader who's inhumane.

Shame on them for being swayed
By Putin's propaganda, for he
Has shown contempt for anyone
Who threatens his authority.

Shame on them for holding up
The passing of bills to offer assistance
To the Ukrainian cause as the people
Fight to defend their very existence.

Instead of siding with Putin, those
Republicans should open their eyes
And see how dangerous it is
For them to fall for all of his lies.

Instead of sitting on their hands,
They should see where inaction leads.
They will help secure the West
By giving Ukraine the help it needs.

With the assistance of NATO, Ukraine
Has vowed to fight to the bitter end.
Republicans in Congress should know
That Vladimir Putin is NOT our friend.

-by Bob B (4-10-24)

Aunt Em received a letter from Dorothy--
A curious one in which she said
That even though she liked it in Oz,
She'd rather be back home instead.

Then she told her aunt about
Something she'd never seen on the plains:
A person lacking THREE important
Things: courage, a heart, and brains!

"The Tin Man, Scarecrow, and Lion, of course:
Each lacked ONE of those three things.
It's scary to know there's someone who
Possesses NONE of those three things."

Aunt Em replied, "I know it's strange
To find someone who lacks all three.
But I'm afraid you're not in Oz;
You’re in Washington, D.C.!”

-by Bob B (4-20-25)

(inspired by an anonymous Facebook post)

When an election affects you directly,
And human rights are clearly at stake,
You have a very good reason to worry:
The situation is make or break.

When voters' decisions are swayed by untruths
Prejudice, or even the curse
Of hard-to-swallow religious dogma,
Such decisions are truly perverse.

When people look at their ballots and say
"THAT issue doesn't affect me at all,"
They do not care that other people
Might be up against a wall.

When people feel complacent and comfy
In their own lives and do not try
To see the bigger picture, they often
Ignore an issue and turn a blind eye.

However, when voters think about others
And say, "This ISN'T just about me,"
Then their choices truly affect
The greater good of humanity.

-by Bob B (10-12-24)

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)

Trump is out to destroy our country
While the Republicans stand by and gawk.
Jobs and programs to keep us running
Smoothly have been on the chopping block.

When he rambles on he says
The craziest things we've ever heard:
Annexing Greenland, Canada,
And Panama! That's absurd!

He is making enemies
Of all our allies and friends from the past.
Our reputation's been shot to hell.
The nation's prosperity cannot last.

Folks on Wall Street are going crazy
About the tariffs that make no sense.
When other countries push back, the great
Retaliator takes offense.

His spokespeople, Cabinet members,
And friends in Congress give their support
By lying to the rest of us.
Even his lawyers lie in court!

Our lives are even more in danger
From careless decisions and deadly diseases.
The Trump administration, however,
Doesn't care. It does what it pleases.

Any talk of reason with him
Leaves the maniac none the wiser.
It seems as though his buddy Putin
Is his dearest and closest adviser.

He's the most vindictive person
I've ever seen! No one can top him.
Congress, are you listening?
Somebody's going to have to stop him!

-by Bob B (3-14-25)

Oh, poor drone! Do you think
That life has dealt you a nasty blow
While you do what nature demands,
And while about your business you go?

The female bees--the worker bees--
Gather nectar and pollen. Not you.
You make no honey and have no stinger.
There's not a lot for you to do.

The workers feed you and keep you around
To help them heat or cool the hive.
But, ultimately, they have an excellent
Reason for keeping you alive:

You truly play a major role,
For you are there to mate with the queen.
But after you mate, you die, poor fellow.
Why must Nature be so mean?

The queen will mate with more than one,
But MOST drones never have the chance.
That fact that you must die after mating:
Is that something that's known in advance?

As winter approaches and food grows scarce,
The workers will say, “Farewell, drone!"
They will kick you out of the hive,
And you will perish on your own.

Ah, we humans also have
Our reasons for being, but by and by,
No matter what our role is on Earth,
Eventually, we ALL have to die.

-by Bob B (9-2-24)

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)

THIS poem is not about Trump.
It's not about his rise and fall.
It’s not about his constant lying.
It’s not about his fantasy wall.

It’s not about understanding
The reasons people still support him.
It’s not about the unscrupulous
Members of Congress who still court him.

It’s not about his insidious
Attempts to challenge a fair election.
It’s not about the insecure
Manner in which he handles rejection.

It’s not about his passion for
Conspiracy theories and made-up "facts."
It’s not about the far-right extremists
And crazy fringe groups he attracts.

It’s not about how he took
A great nation and in four years
Tore it apart and left it in shambles
And then whined, expecting cheers.

It’s not about his overwhelming
Hypocrisy and how he became--
Because of his moral bankruptcy--
Someone who sullied his very own name.

It’s not about his nepotism,
Corruption, cover-ups, or affairs,
Or how he cares LESS about us
And MORE about his stock market shares.

It’s not about how he mishandled
A deadly pandemic--par for the course--
By listening to quacks and ignoring the experts,
And as people died, he showed no remorse.

What the poem's about is when
Conspiracy theories lose their appeal,
Then and only at that time
Will the nation be able to heal.

-by Bob B (11-18-20)

Rising prices might distress us.
It might be harder to make ends meet.
Leaders have to make decisions
For which they're bound to take some heat.
But there are things that come at a price,
And they involve some sacrifice.

We know that wars have consequences
That affect the world at large.
We also know that very little
In this world comes free of charge.
Freedom lovers don't think twice
When it comes to sacrifice.

Tyrants rise and tyrants fall.
While they're in power, they deface
Democracy with dictatorial
Measures that they rush to embrace.
To curb their power, here's some advice:
Get ready for some sacrifice.

If democracy can flourish,
People eager for freedom must strive
To stop the flow of resources
That keep dictatorships alive.
It's not going to be all sugar and spice.
Get used to the concept "sacrifice."

-by Bob B (3-9-22)

The president invited supporters
To visit him in the White House this week.
Such a display of hypocrisy!
A prayer ****, so to speak.

With impeachment procedures occurring,
He's trying to bolster part of his base
By meeting with religious fanatics
To pander to them face to face.

Referring to so-called religious freedom,
He wants to remind them how much he's done
To help the country and doesn't see how
He's ******* it up for everyone.

"Religious freedom" really means
A free rein to discriminate,
A way to deny equal rights,
Another way to perpetuate hate.

Watch them lay their hands on Trump
And pray. They don't care in the least
How it looks to the rest of the world.
Don't they know they're blessing the beast?

-by Bob B (11-1-19)

Trump with all his indictments and cases
Continues playing his usual games.
Political motivations are
What guide the indictments! That's what he claims.

He's trying to get the sympathy
From voters across the country who feel
That poor, innocent Donald Trump
Has gotten a horrible, horrible deal.

Victimhood's his major tactic.
He says it's all a witch hunt, and then
He and his lawyers keep trying to
Delay the process again and again.

Stalling is a strategy
That he has worked out to perfection.
He wants to postpone his trials until
After the presidential election.

If you're innocent, Donald Trump,
Then prove your innocence in court.
But that's not easy when honesty
And integrity are not your forte.

With all the evidence against him,
It’s hard to imagine him going free.
Don't ask "for whom the bell tolls,"
Donald Trump; "it tolls for thee."

-by Bob B (3-25-24)

The year was 1998.
The day to celebrate my mother
In retrospect turned out to be
A day unlike any other.

Not because that Mother's Day
Was from any observation
Unique in form or different from
Any previous celebration.

No, that day was different, for
No matter how much in vain I'd strive
To turn back the clock, that day was
The last I saw my mother alive.

If only I had known, I would
Have had the greatest party of all
With music blaring, food galore,
And party guests from wall to wall.

That's what my mother would have deserved.
For her, however, it would suffice
Merely to be with family.
Reflecting on this, I have some advice.

When you're with family and friends,
This rule should be hard and fast:
Act as though that day together
Very well could be your last.

Show them your appreciation,
Love, devotion, and heartfelt concern.
Demonstrate your loving-kindness,
And you'll receive it in return.

The best way now to celebrate
My mom in actuality
Would be for me to be the person
She'd have wanted me to be.

Having our moms in our memories
And hearts is fine, but one thing's clear:
As wonderful as that might be,
It's not the same as having her here.

-by Bob B (5-12-24)

Drone strike in Afghanistan.
Now the Pentagon admits
That it made a BIG mistake
That blew ten Afghan civilians to bits.

The day: August 31.
Sometimes calculations are wrong
And happen when we stay involved
In places where we don't belong.

Three adults and seven children.
Mistakes like this have happened before.
Thousands of civilian deaths
Occurred during our 20-year war.

A "reasonable certainty."
That is what it takes to get
The U.S. military to bomb
What it thinks is a dangerous threat.

What about upping the threshold?
Regarding such strikes, have we not
Considered that "reasonable" should be
Changed to "certain"? Food for thought.

"Collateral damage": an ugly expression.
So many innocent people have died
In wars that are unnecessary.
How can that be justified?

"Over the horizon operations."
With zero accountability? Why?
If we plan to continue such strikes,
Then more innocent people will die.

Incomprehensible suffering.
Will the U.S. at long last
Dig down deep to find some answers
And learn from its mistakes in the past?

-by Bob B (9-19-21)

(This poem could be sung to the melody of Crystal Gayle's song "Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue?")

It's a daily déjà vu:
Hearing MAGA people spew
Trump's weird point of view.
And won't that turn our red states blue?

He thinks he can carry on
With his lies that make us yawn.
Well, that's nothing new.
I hope that turns our red states blue.

All that he says is odd and unkind.
It really seems that he's losing his mind.
It's just as though he's become a cliché.
Donald J Trump is becoming passé

Keep it up, Trump, and you will fail.
Maybe you will then bewail
The part you played when you
Helped TURN some of our red states,
Turn some of our red states,
Turn some of our red states blue.

-by Bob B (8-17-24)

So God, the Supreme Being, Creator--
Whatever you want to call Him--sat
And looked down upon the planet
That was the Earthlings' habitat.

"My, oh, my!" He said to himself.
"What I've done is truly insane:
I gave people a way to think,
But some aren't able use their brain.

"Terminating pregnancies
Isn't an issue that's black or white.
But I gave people the means to do it;
Each must decide to do what's right.

"I gave people excellent doctors,
Safe methods, facilities,
And people who offer expert advice
In keeping with their abilities.

"What I can see occurring right now
Is SOME want to choose what's "right" for OTHERS.
Whether to carry a child to term
Should be entirely up to the mothers.

"My God--oops, I said it again--
It really frustrates me when I find
That people down there claim to know
What is happening in my mind.

"This is my goal for everybody:
It's incumbent on you to look
Inside your heart and do not base
All your decisions on any one book.

"Extremist ideologies!
They are disgusting to me, and yet
People love to involve me in them.
We need a sit-down--a tête-à-tête.

"But right now I have other problems.
I've been watching two nations collide.
Ridiculously, each of the countries
Thinks that I am on its side."

-by Bob B (6-25-22)

OH! MY! GOODNESS! PEOPLE!
I cannot believe what I'm seeing.
Take a really good look around;
You will notice that reason is fleeing.

Legislators in North Dakota
Proposed a crazy resolution
That clearly conflicts with what has been
Written in our constitution.

They want the state to acknowledge that over
All the world, Christ is king!
That has a very definite
Anti-constitutional ring.

Misinterpreting Biblical quotes,
They try to justify their position.
I wouldn't be surprised if they
Will next propose an inquisition!

(By the way, a lot of Christians
Don't understand what the Bible is saying,
How and when and why it was written,
And how it was altered. That is dismaying.)

Our Founding Fathers strongly believed
In separating church and state.
To put a religion above all others
Is something we MUST repudiate.

Christian nationalists are trying
To make a theocracy of the U.S.
They need to study our history,
Open their minds, and decompress.

If they want Christ to be the king
Over ALL the world in THEIR minds, fine.
But writing it into law? No way!
That is going way over the line!

-by Bob B (2-11-25)

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)

As Trump becomes more demented,
We know what would happen should he
Win a second term: the person
Running the country would be the VP.

JD Vance, who's held an elected
Office for only a very short time,
Would do his best to fully dismantle
The government with his partner in crime.

Vance, along with others, would have
Our institutions "pulled to pieces."
The more we hear him talk, the more
His ugly extremism increases.

Purge the federal government
Of secular leaders, he has said,
And fill all the positions with
Christian nationalists instead.

Tech leaders such as Musk
Should be planning our future as well,
He feels. And powerful leaders must also
Be ruthless. To hell with the freedom bell!

Freedom and democracy
Are incompatible, he claims.
Enforcing HIS idea of
Morality is one of his aims.

What the majority of people
Feel is not important to Vance.
Strong leaders impose their will--
An antidemocratic stance!

Vance supports abortion bans.
For him, of course, it goes without saying.
It wouldn't surprise me if he said that God
Talked to him when he was praying.

This is just a smattering
Of all the damage that Vance could do.
If he pulled it off, it would
Be a devastating coup.

-by Bob B (10-16-24)

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)

I have a hard time understanding
This whole thing about being white
And what makes being white so special.
I CAN'T comprehend it, try as I might.

"Special" here means using “whiteness”
To hold others down with unfair laws
Or other discriminatory treatment--
Injustice that should give all people pause.

I am of northern European
Background. That is just who I am.
But if my forebears had come from Mars,
Frankly, I wouldn't give a ****.

I must accept myself--that’s true--
To be who I am, but I'll come clean:
I'd be content to be any color--
Black, white, or in between.

Privileges that come with being
White for many are in effect
Exactly what those very same people
Fear losing and choose to protect.

What a shame that is! To me
It absolutely makes no sense
To keep your sense of privilege
And do so at someone else's expense.

If only we could find a way
To make such treatment disappear!
Life could be so much more
Harmonious here on this earthly sphere.

Be who you are, but learn to appreciate
Others for who they happen to be.
Walk in their shoes, live in their skin,
Hear what they hear, see what they see.

White, brown, black…whatever.
Let's unite as people--as one.
NOT other people, but false pride
And prejudice are what we should shun.

-by Bob B (2-10-21)

Shhh! The Trump administration
Doesn't want you to know
One reason why Donald Trump's
Approval ratings are low.

What they're doing is very much
A gaslighting technique.
Their talk on tariffs truly is
Political doublespeak.

The tariff war that Trump has started
Will NOT raise prices, they say.
Do they realize that we
Were NOT born yesterday?

Prices indeed are rising and workers'
Jobs are at risk. What's more,
Small businesses are hurting
As costs are starting to soar.

Tourism is slowing down.
Bankruptcies will occur.
Instead of helping businesses, Trump's
A business saboteur.

The tariffs are hitting farmers hard;
They don't know how to plan.
It's easy for them to identify
The real bogeyman.

If countries want a tariff war,
Trump says we'll defeat them.
Regarding the tariffs, he keeps saying
That China is going to eat them.

Whoever thinks that's going to happen
Hasn't been paying attention.
That CEOs are caving in
Is also worthy of mention.

But shhh! Don't talk of rising prices,
Or Trump will be irate.
If you upset the king, he will
Want your head on a plate.

-by Bob B (4-30-25)

A hungry cat was growing thin
And hadn't eaten for quite some time.
He heard that some local birds were ailing
And thought to himself, "How sublime!

"Certainly, they need a doctor.
I think I can fit the bill.
Once the birds let down their guard,
At THAT point I'll go in for the ****."

He gathered together some spectacles,
A coat, a hat, and a doctor's bag
And dressed up for the occasion, saying
"Looking good, though I hate to brag."

And so the cat presented himself
At the birds' home and said he was there
Because he had heard that the birds were sick
And asked if they needed emergency care.

"No!" said the birds. "Never mind.
Do you think we're that naïve?
We are fine and we will do
Even better once you leave."

Dejected, the cat departed. The Moral:
Villains don't like it when others eschew them.
They may try to disguise themselves,
But people can often see right through them.

It's true that scoundrels can be quite shifty,
Especially hackers and scammers today,
Who hide behind their disguises and wait
Like predators ready to pounce on their prey.

-by Bob B (9-3-21)

°An Aesop fable retold here in verse

A virulent virus spreads; everything's on pause.
Governments scramble to survive.
When leadership falters, life is more uncertain.
We see that with number Forty-five.

The president attempts to act presidential
But leaves us with a giant question mark.
At a time when honesty is needed more than ever,
We are often left out in the dark.

When leaders spout that certain things are more important
Than living, we should run the other way.
They have sold themselves to cruel heartlessness.
They're the predators and we, the prey.

We can do our best to live out our lives.
Let's not subject ourselves to blame,
Even though at times we can't help but feel
That we are merely pawns in a game.

Some governors tell us to get back to work
Before safety measures are in place.
To them we are nothing but numbers, figures--
Statistics in an deadly database.

Some irresponsible newscasters say,
"This is not so bad as it seems."
Downplaying the danger to satisfy their whims,
They hurt us all by spreading dangerous memes.

Playing with our lives, many leaders try
To judge our worth based on market price.
If we want to win, some of us must lose,
They say to us while handing us the dice.

We can do our best to live out our lives.
Let's not subject ourselves to blame,
Even though at times we can't help but feel
That we are merely pawns in a game.

-by Bob B (4-30-20)

For twenty-three years, overlooking
The I-65 in Tennessee,
A 25-foot statue stood--
A statue portraying infamy.

The figure was Nathan Bedford Forrest,
Riding a horse, and who, by the way,
Was a Confederate general
And founder of the KKK.

The lawyer for the man who killed
Martin Luther King created
The statue, which was hideous.
It's ugliness couldn't be overstated.

Surrounded by thirteen Confederate flags,
The statue stood for twenty-three years.
On Tuesday this week the statue was toppled.
Most people will shed no tears.

The property owner, Bill Dorris,
Claimed he wasn't a racist. Why?
Because Blacks had worked for him.
All we can say is, Dorris, nice try.

But listen to this: He also said
That it was good to be a slave
Because the enslaved were given job
Security from cradle to grave.

What the…?

Dorris died in 2020;
However, racism isn't gone.
If we're going to end the scourge,
We must confront the issue head-on.

-by Bob B (12-8-21)

Tell me: What is your worst nightmare
If you’re a parent? I bet I know.
It's something that parents didn't have to
Worry about years ago.

You send your child to school and say,
"See you this afternoon," and then
A mass shooting occurs, and you NEVER
See your child alive again.

THAT's a parent's worst nightmare,
Which happens here in the United States
More often than anywhere else,
For the gun lobby dominates.

If your children are safe and sound,
Count your blessings, and while you do,
Weep for ALL the parents out there
Who haven't been as lucky as you.

In all the world, it's only here
That gun extremists are in control.
How many more of our kids will die
Before the fanatics achieve their goal?

So what will you do to stop the madness?
Sit on your hands and let it continue?
Or will you ACT to finally end
This nightmare? Do you have it within you?

We shouldn't have to live like this.
People are being murdered while we
Let the killings continue by
Responding with our apathy.

-by Bob B (12-4-21)

Every day it seems that we hear on the news
That someone else has a few loose screws:
Anti-vaxxers causing disruptions on our planes.
Trying to be obnoxious, they go to great pains.
Defying mask rules, they are picking fights,
Intimidating passengers and delaying flights.
Physically and verbally abusive, they don't care
If they cause disturbance on the ground or in the air.

Foolishly trying to assert their independence,
They spit at, and yell at, and curse at flight attendants,
Who must bear the burden of all the lunacy.
It also is a serious threat to you and me.
Recently, we've heard that a certain nutcase
Punched a flight attendant right in the face,
Knocking out two teeth! Another commandeered
The plane's PA system. Boy, was that weird!

Some unruly passengers have so turned up the heat
That they have had to be duct taped to their seat.
To spread misinformation about our vaccines,
Some of them resort to using any means.
Screeching and preaching, expressing their defiance
Of epidemiologists who rely on science,
Some of these crazies seem to be intent
On being as obnoxious as the former president.

It's so sad to see that we have come to this.
It makes a person wonder what has gone amiss.
Why do some people choose to reject
Behavior toward others that involves more respect?
Fools! They show a lack of common sense.
Fools are the ones who come to their defense.
Fools! I can't think of any other word--
Fools!--to describe behavior so absurd.

THEY'RE FOOLS!

-by Bob B (10-18-21)

(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.)

Typhoid Trump. How he loves
His super-spreaders! Yes, siree!
All the attention from cheering fans
Fills his hungry heart with glee.

Heaven forbid he wear his mask,
Even though he's been infected
With COVID-19. He doesn't care
If most of the crowd is unprotected.

His Florida friend Ron DeSantis
Saunters past the crowded rows
Of fans, high-fiving them.
Afterwards, he wipes his nose!

While experts want to contain the virus,
Trump's theory is let it spread.
His virus-spreading ego trip
Has him dancing over the dead.

At rallies all over, the president's team
Support his notion of "herd mentality"°
And speak to unprotected crowds.
What a peculiar sense of reality!

Giuliani says people don't
Die from COVID anymore.
Really? Seven hundred people
Died that day. Numbers soar.

Ironically, Pence asks the crowd
At a rally for the president
To applaud first responders! What?
While at a super-spreader event?

What an odd relationship
Between Trump and his promoters!
It's almost as if the Trump campaign
Is trying to **** its very own voters.

-by Bob B (10-14-20)

°Trump meant "herd immunity."

Ed was my mom's first cousin by marriage.
Thus, I guess to me,
First cousin once removed
By marriage he had to be.

He lived most of his life in the Land
Of Enchantment: New Mexico,
Where mesas and rugged mountains tower
And wailing desert winds blow.

I loved the phone conversations I had
With Ed and my cousin, for they
Were charming relatives who always
Had so much to say.

Separated by 800 miles,
We had to resort to the phone
To stay in touch, and when she died
And Ed was on his own,

We continued our phone conversations.
It was a sheer delight
To hear the knowledge and wisdom expounded
By someone so wise and bright.

Ed was a man of science and reason
And could get a little bit snarky
When people expressed unfounded beliefs.
Religion to him was malarkey.

We are saved by reason and NOT
By a mythological god.
Myths are fine if understood
As myths, but they are flawed.

He felt that sadly too many people
Do not use their brains.
Instead of trusting reason, they are
Bound by religious chains.

If I brought up astrology
Or Tarot ***** nilly,
Ed would laugh and say that he
Found them just as silly.

Ed would say that reason should guide
Politics as well.
Too many people share the home
Where folly and ignorance dwell.

Whether or not you agreed with him,
You could always be sure
That when you conversed, you'd be on
A fascinating tour.

Ed wanted to donate his body
To science after his death
And made arrangements to do so once
He took his final breath.

In December 2022,
He peacefully died in his sleep.
Great times and great conversations are
The memories I'll keep.

I think about what a character
He was and have to laugh.
"A man who wouldn't put up with nonsense"
Should be his epitaph.

-by Bob B (5-11-24)

(This poem can be sung to the verse and chorus of the Village People's song "Macho Man.")

Trump doesn't like it if you call him TACO° man.
Anyone who calls him that cannot be his fan.
Tariffs up the ying yang--not so cool.
Thinks he's smart but he is just a fool.

Everyone can see that he's the TACO man.
He's turned the U.S.A. into TACOSTAN.
Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes!

TACO TACO man--
Trump's nothing but the TACO man.
TACO TACO man--
Just call him Mr. TACO (man).
TACO TACO man--
He'll cheat you any way that he can.
Know that that's his plan.
Just call him Mr. TACO (man).

You can read right through him; he's like an open book.
The people who are near him know he is a crook.
******* over others: his routine,
With the biggest ego that we've seen.

Everyone can see that he's the TACO man.
A boy who will not grow up, he's just like Peter Pan.
Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes!

TACO TACO man--
Trump's nothing but the TACO man.
TACO TACO man--
Just call him Mr. TACO (man).
TACO TACO man--
He'll cheat you any way that he can.
Know that that's his plan.
Just call him Mr. TACO (man).

He has filed for bankruptcy many many times.
One wonders when he'll have to pay for all his crimes.
Filling all his coffers to the brim,
He thinks corruption, greed, and grift can't hurt HIM.

It's so obvious that he's the TACO man.
We saw his shenanigans before his term began.
Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes!

TACO TACO man--
Trump's nothing but the TACO man.
TACO TACO man--
Just call him Mr. TACO (man).
TACO TACO man--
He'll cheat you any way that he can.
Know that that's his plan.
Just call him Mr. TACO (man).

-by Bob B (6-12-25)
(Thanks to Larry R for the inspiration.)

°The term "TACO trade" was first coined by Financial Times columnist Robert Armstrong and stands for "Trump Always Chickens Out." Some people prefer "Trump Always Cheats Others."

Why for months has Hello Poetry
Been so out of whack?
Is the problem really such
A hard nut to crack?

I can’t see a lot of poems
That I would love to see,
And many people cannot read
The ones written by me.

There’s a contact address, but is it
Just there for show?
Since I never get a response,
How am I to know?

The site needs a technician who knows
What he or she is doing.
If it continues to function this way,
Frustrations will keep brewing.

It was a wonderful site, but now
I keep wondering whether
It’s going to be able once again
To get its act together.

-by Bob B (4-11-20)

Much can be learned from reading the scriptures
From many religions--not just one.
Searching for deeper truths and insights
Into human nature is fun.

Learning the path to knowing the self
And meditating on what you read
Give you an opportunity
To better yourself--whatever your creed.

Striving to be more understanding
Serves as a task that's far from small.
It helps us appreciate other religions
And people with no religion at all.

The symbolism that fills the stories,
The parables and figures of speech,
And words of wisdom help you to gain
Greater awareness--so within reach.

Seeking whatever helps us to be
Loving, compassionate, and kind
Is powerful and transformative;
However, do keep one thing in mind:

If using the scriptures to further hatred,
Intolerance, or bigotry, you
Have to remember that "the devil
Can cite scripture for HIS purpose,"° too.

-by Bob B (8-22-21)

°from William Shakespeare

(This poem can be sung to the melody of "Back in the Saddle Again" by Gene Autry and Ray Whitley.)

He’s BACK in the White House again.
Where HE can play God now and then.
Feeling SMUG 'cause he's immune,
He is STILL a base buffoon.
Trump's in the White House again.

He’s BACK in the White House once more.
This time he's worse than before!
Since our nation's less secure,
Who knows HOW we will endure?
Trump's in the White House again.

It's a shame how he
Managed to go free.
Trump’s in the White House again.
And we STILL don't know
How low he'll go.
Trump's in the White House again.

It's HARD to believe that he won.
The nonsense has barely begun.
All the CHAOS he creates
Is a nightmare for the states.
Trump's in the White House again.

Vengeance is what drives the man.
HE'LL ***** whomever he can.
And with Musk there by his side,
How much more can we abide?
Trump's in the White House again.

It's a shame how he
Managed to go free.
Trump's in the White House again.
And we STILL don't know
How low he'll go.
Trump's in the White House again.

-by Bob B (2-12-25)

Get your vaccination.
Set your fears aside.
Do not count on others
To give you a free ride.

We're in this together.
Everyone take heart.
All can benefit
If we do our part.

Don't buy into tactics
That people out there use
To push a false agenda
And spread untruthful news.

Protect yourself and others,
And we will likely see
The vaccine help us reach
Herd immunity.

But STILL be on your guard--
Vaccinated or not.
Variants could pop up
For which we have no shot.

It behooves us all
To put this virus behind us.
Conspiracy theories only
Hurt, confuse, and blind us.

So get your vaccination
If you haven't yet.
Don't let your inaction
Be something you regret.

-by Bob B (6-20-21)

History will tell the story
Of how the U.S. abandoned Ukraine--
Of how an American dictator rose
To power and left it out in the rain--

Of how he sidled up to the leader
Of Russia, and how his admin team
Carried out their Führer's plans
By fully supporting the tyrant's regime--

Of how the American dictator lied
And called Ukraine the true aggressor,
In total opposition to his
Wise and compassionate predecessor--

Of how the European nations
Continued to give Ukraine support
While the American bully's team
Continued to look for truths to distort--

Of how the American tyrant discounted
The pain that the Russians had inflicted
Upon the Ukrainian people, who
Held out longer than folks had predicted--

Of how the bully would help Ukraine
ONLY if there was quid pro quo,
For as a transactional tyrant, he didn't
Like it at all if someone said no--

Of how the dictator's sycophants
Maintained that democracy had failed,
Scoffed at the rule of law, and cheered
When liberties were being curtailed.

What will history say of the people
Who flatly refused the tyrant's demands--
Resisters on American shores
And caring leaders from other lands?

Maybe if all goes well, the cruel
And vicious tyrant will choke on his glory,
And leaders of democracy
Can change the outcome of history's story.

-by Bob B (2-25-25)

The president stood before the mic
And told the public not to fear--
That things were not so bad--but didn't
Say that he was insincere.

He let them think that oh, we have
COVID-19 under control,
As he tried to convince the public
To follow him down the rabbit hole.

He found a doctor who was not
An epidemiologist
To spread his propaganda, and he
Allowed the experts to be dismissed.

He thoughtlessly invited his fans
To rallies where masks were not required
And thought his obstinacy and his
Insouciance made him highly admired.

He scorned those who wore their masks
And knew the virus was a threat,
And when journalists pressed him about
The issue, he'd become upset.

Thinking he knew so much more
Than all of the experts, he made sure
That CDC recommendations
Would soften and remain obscure.

All of a sudden, what do we learn?
The president is hospitalized
For having contracted COVID-19.
Is anybody at all surprised?

The lesson here: denial does not
Make problems disappear on their own.
Always consider consequences,
For we will reap what we have sown.

Negligence as a strategy
Slowly but surely gives danger a boost
When our actions catch up with us--
When the chickens come home to roost.

-by Bob B (10-4-20)

(This poem can be sung to the melody of "Auld Lang Syne.")

It's been a year from hell--one that
We might choose to forget.
Our routine and our very lives
Have been under constant threat.

Let’s raise a glass and give a toast,
For we have reached the end
Of 2020. Will good things
Await us 'round the bend?

A deadly virus spread and still
It takes a heavy toll.
Let's hope the vaccines wipe it out;
That will be the New Year's goal.

Let’s raise a glass and give a toast,
For we have reached the end
Of 2020. Will good things
Await us 'round the bend?

The votes were cast; the people spoke.
Now let's shout out three cheers,
For gone will be the one who gave
Us four nightmarish years.

Let’s raise a glass and give a toast,
For we have reached the end
Of 2020. Will good things
Await us 'round the bend?

-by Bob B (12-31-20)

The quiet of the early morning
Before the break of dawn…
Glistening nighttime dew captures
Moonlight on the lawn.

The soundless darkness obfuscates…
Tranquility prevails…
Not a chirp is heard, for there
Are no nightingales.

Shadows on the moonlit sidewalk
Cast by the towering palm
Punctuate the serenity
Of the morning calm.

Although the silent inner voices
And noiseless thoughts don't cease,
The stillness fills one's being with
A soothing inner peace.

Taking full advantage of
The still dark morning hours,
Hungry snails quietly
Feast on garden flowers.

Shhh! If you listen intently
Before the snails depart,
You will hear the soft and rhythmic
Beating of your heart.

-by Bob B (11-4-19)