When growing up, I never had
The feeling that I was a finicky *****,
And even though it wasn't a custom
For us to parade around in the ****,

My easygoing Midwestern parents
Never felt that it would befoul
Our minds if after bathing they
Returned to their bedroom wrapped in a towel.

I learned, however, that some people were
In many respects less modest than others.
For instance, my friend's mother's behavior
Was very different from my mother's.

We'd be playing--my friend and I--
When all of a sudden his mom would prance
Into his room not wearing a thing,
Almost as though she was doing a dance.

It was…different, but not for me
A reason for laughing, fleeing, or fainting.
I was used to seeing scores
Of nudes in many a Renaissance painting.

Unfazed, my friend and I continued
To do whatever we were playing
As though we had merely witnessed his mom
Vacuuming, baking pies, or crocheting.

We humans are the only mammals
That stifle our belches, excuse our farts,
And feel that it's very necessary
To cover up our private parts--

Unless you are a nudist, of course.
That, we know, is a different matter.
So, birthday suit or covered body?
I think I will stick with the latter.

I have been to **** beaches
Both in the States and overseas.
Instead of feeling liberated,
I felt a little bit ill at ease.

I do not find ******
Offensive at all, so please take note:
If that's your thing, then be my guest
And do whatever floats your boat.

If "clothes make the man," as the saying goes,
****** levels the playing field.
But I feel more relaxed if certain
Body parts remain concealed.

-by Bob B (5-20-24)

As she danced before Herod and Herodias,
Salome waved her flowing veil,
Which fluttered and whirled through the air around her
And rippled like a silken sail.

"Ah, your daughter dances divinely,"
Said Herod to his calculating wife.
"She dances as though she's walking on air.
I've never seen so much grace in my life."

After a frenzied flurry and flash,
Salome stopped and bowed to the king.
"My dear," said Herod, "what may I give you?
Half of my kingdom? Anything!

"Tell me what your heart is set on.
I'll give you whatever you desire."
Salome looked at her mother, who
Smiled and nodded--her eyes on fire.

"Your incomparable kindness compels me
To answer simply to a king so great.
I ask for one thing only and that
Is John the Baptist's head on a plate."

Said; done. The executioner
Soon returned carrying John's head,
Which Salome gave to her bloodthirsty mother,
Who was delighted that he was dead.

What about those who keep on dancing
Salome's dance? They pivot and swirl,
Contemplating how to placate
The wishes of others while they twirl?

Do they conspire to perpetrate
Division and discord--not unity and peace?
Have love and kindness and thoughtfulness
Given way to heartless caprice?

Are they moved by seductive wiles
As if compassion does not matter?
Do they seek above all things
Vengeance on a silver platter?

- by Bob B

When fringe groups go mainstream,          
We're in a lot of trouble.
If extremism turns you on,
Sorry to burst your bubble.

A virus in the Wh…Breit House uses
Every opportunity
To threaten our democracy
By weakening our immunity.

Opposition to the virus
Is told--is ordered--to hush.
If you have been directly exposed,
Your brain will turn to mush.

Once you are infected the damage
Is usually irreparable.
(A fool and foolish ideas are
Without a doubt inseparable.)

The Bannon virus is dangerous
Because it's so insidious.
That's why healthy individuals
Find it so invidious.

Disinfecting the Breit House will
Require a lot of gumption.
People will say it's impossible,
But that's a mere presumption.

Remain healthy and well-informed.
There's no time to relax.
Woe to the country if the virus
Isn't stopped in its tracks.

- by Bob B (2-2-17)

Denial gets you nowhere.
When there's a problem, face it.
If it's a major challenge,
Open your mind and embrace it.

The trouble is a problem
Won't go away on its own.
Don't wait until
The flower is overblown.

If a situation
Affects our national security,
Can a solution wait
For some remote futurity?

Bury your head in the sand
If your mind is closed.
But if you do, remember:
Your rear will be exposed.

How to solve a problem
When our leaders drub
Twaddle into our heads?
Ah, that's the rub!

How to get to the bottom
Of what is happening around us
Is problematic when
Efforts are made to confound us.

What is clear to some,
To others is quite blurry.
Suspicions arise when something
Is covered up in a scurry.

To know or not to know?
Is that the question that taunts us?
Why didn't we stop it?
Will be the question that haunts us.

- by Bob B (3-30-17)

I lost a furry friend today:
A squirrel that often came to visit.
Can't the hawks go somewhere else?
That's not too much to ask, is it?

The squirrel would often sit in our tree
And wait for me to take it a treat:
Some grapes, some nuts, some whole wheat
Whatever the little beggar would eat.

Quite content, he'd chomp away,
Always vigilant and alert.
He didn't want to be another
Animal's dinner or dessert.

Sometimes my little visitor,
Hoping that I'd give him more,
Would jauntily prance up to my house
And stand on the steps outside my door.

Today the hawks were in the trees,
On the roofs and in the sky.
One flew off a while ago,
Carrying the little guy.

Couldn't the hawks just eat rats?
I guess that breaks some natural rule.
Nature--so grand and majestic at times--
Can also appear to be so cruel.

Instead of killing squirrels, why can't
Hawks--like vultures--feast on carrion?
Or better yet: why don't they try
A diet strictly vegetarian?

-by Bob B (8-30-18)

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."

"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)

Dear Russia, since you're
Already meddling in our affairs,
And seem to have experience
Dealing with slippery billionaires,

Could you maybe take a peek
At Trump's personal IRS files
And share all of his tax returns
With the use of all of your wiles?

People have been asking, but
The man has been disinclined
To share the information with us.
If YOU do it, he shouldn't mind.

For some reason (why could that be?)
A president who loves to barter
Won't do something that was done
By all presidents since Jimmy Carter.

If he has a good excuse,
He should tell us; we're all ears.
The audit excuse doesn't hold water.
And what about all the other years?

If there's nothing to cover up,
There's no reason to fear a chiding.
He's so reluctant to be transparent
That we keep wondering what he's hiding.

And since you in our last election
Were one of Trump's top promoters,
We hope you will help us out.
Yours truly, American voters.

-by Bob B (10-30-17)

Compared to the age of the universe,
Our time on Earth is rather brief.
Still, the longer we live, the more
We'll walk hand and hand with grief.

Death knocks on the doors of others
And calmly ushers them away.
No matter how much a person resists,
Death will have its final say.

When losing family and friends,
It's hard to describe the pain we feel.
But when we consider our own demise,
The whole idea is oddly surreal.

The thought of suddenly being no more--
At least in our current ****** form--
Is totally foreign to us, for knowing
The world through our senses has been the norm.

Someday my favorite chair
Will no longer feel my rear.
The sound of my voice--my cries, my laughter--
Will not reach a single ear.

When I go, I’ll join the ranks
Of billions of other people who
Have died before me, which reminds me
That having to die is nothing new.

To let go and face the unknown,
Not to worry, not to fret…
We know that life is constant change--
That death is part of life--and yet….

-by Bob B (4-26-22)

As the wind blows across the fiery desert,
The desperate people of Yemen sigh.
How many more will suffer today?
How many more children will cry?
A Saudi-led coalition
Strikes with a heartless disregard,
Leaving behind misery--
Death and destruction its calling card.

Choking the poor country, the Saudis
Organized a major blockade,
Cutting off vital medicine,
Food, and water, and stopping all trade.
Cluster bombs have fallen on cities.
Thousands of innocent people have died.
Hospitals and schools have been hit.
How can such horror be justified?

Millions of people risk starvation
If all the bombing does not end.
The Saudis hunger for more and more weapons,
And they have billions of dollars to spend.
A bomb made by Lockheed Martin
Hit a Yemeni school bus
Killing fifty-one people, and hurting
Many more, thanks to us.

A U.S. bomb hit funeral mourners;
One destroyed a marketplace.
That our support causes such
Atrocities is a disgrace.
The people suffer from cholera--
Something that is hard to avoid
When a country's sanitation
Facilities are being destroyed.

A massive humanitarian crisis
Plagues the country despite appeals
To end the conflict by caring nations,
While major players dig in their heels.
Sunni-Shiite conflicts continue
With innocent citizens caught in between.
Callous leaders turn their heads,
Afraid to speak up or intervene.

-by Bob B (10-17-18)

The current president's rhetoric is
A cause for great alarm.
His words have the potential to cause
Other people harm.

Now a woman in Congress is
The focus of his abuse.
Once again, for his behavior
There is no excuse.

According to Trump, the congresswoman
Doesn't understand
Real life; what's more she
Deserves a reprimand

For words he took out of context.
He placed those words beside
Images of 9/11,
When nearly 3,000 died.

In such tweets, the president
Exposes his usual role
Of being a cold, hate-mongering,
Vicious Internet troll.

Real life? Ilhan Omar
Fled Somalia when
A ****** civil war tore
The country apart, and then

She spent four years in Kenya
In a detention camp, waiting
To seek refuge in the U.S.,
Her hopes never abating.

She did not have wealthy parents
To pamper her with cash
And give her millions of dollars to
Make a societal splash.

Now she's getting death threats--
Something that's not rare
When people hear a president
Who really doesn't care.

It seems as though by hurting others
Is how Trump feels fulfilled--
As though he doesn't care if his words
Cause someone to be killed.

This exploitation of anti-Muslim
Sentiments has to stop.
We expect much more from
The person at the top.

-by Bob B (4-18-19)

Five years now it's been since
A gunman stormed Sandy Hook
And killed twenty-six people there
In a cruel, heinous act that shook

The country--no, that shook the world--
And left everyone asking how
Such an event could occur.
But don't dare mention the sacred cow:

Guns in America and people who
Shouldn’t have them, and heaven forbid
That anyone bring up gun legislation.
We watch as gun lobbyists outbid

The rest of us, who sound the alarm,
Announcing a call to action, while
Legislators sit on their butts,
Afraid to act--refusing to rile

Donors, supporters, their base, and Second
Amendment fanatics, obdurate in
Their uncompromising approach to
An argument that's wearing thin.

Many people will never get over
Their indescribable loss and grief
From something that in America
Has become a recurring motif.

Twenty children and six adults
Were killed at the school. Don't forget.
And what's been done since then, despite
More shootings? Zilch, as of yet!

As we acknowledge the innocent victims
Of Sandy Hook, remember that prayers
Will not suffice as the only solution
For shootings for anybody who cares.

-by Bob B (12-14-17)

Despite voter suppression laws,
Alabamians voted for
A Democrat to serve in Congress.
Doug Jones beat Roy Moore!

A man who respects the rule of law
And built supporters' esprit de corps
Won a defining but narrow election.
Doug Jones beat Roy Moore!

The win hopefully sends a message
That actions are something we won't ignore--
That decency and respect matter.
Doug Jones beat Roy Moore!

When racist, xeno- and homophobic
Feelings ooze from every pore,
That person is unfit for office.
Doug Jones beat Roy Moore!

****** assaulters beware:
American voters are keeping score
As more victims speak out loudly.
Doug Jones beat Roy Moore!

May the movement for honesty,
Truth, respect, and integrity soar!
Keep alive the momentum of hope.
Doug Jones beat Roy Moore!

-by Bob B (12-13-17)

It looks as though the president--
The dull and tedious bore--
Has unilaterally decided
That he's declaring war.

War on what or whom? you wonder.
The man who thinks he's king
Appears to be declaring war
On almost everything:

War on truth; war on judges
Who don't agree with him;
War on any critic who doesn't
Support his every whim;

War on immigrants' rights and war
On aid to people in need;
War on any measures that
Restrict corporate greed;

War on DEI, or course,
And war on voters' rights;
War on historic records that he
Thinks are unfair to Whites;

War on the rule of law, and war
Also on reason and science;
War on wokenesss, because he doesn't
Tolerate defiance;

War on schools with high Hispanic
Enrollment; war on the press;
When he imposes his tariffs, then war
On countries that don't acquiesce;

War on clean-air regulations
And health protections for sure,
For he's defunding research, which
For him has no allure;

War on an independent Department
Of Justice and FBI,
For now they jump when he says "Jump!"
And do not ask him "Why?”;

War on public broadcasting
Which gives him fits of pique;
War on ANY station that
Allows his critics to speak;

War on cities, particularly
Those in states that are blue;
War on you if you perhaps
Are LGBTQ;

War on us, for he is using
Our troops against us. His orders:
Troops have the right to stop and question
Anyone near our borders.

Especially on Democrats
War has been declared,
But he'll go after anyone.
Very few are spared.

It's really war on democracy
As our rights disappear.
I never thought I'd see the day
That THAT would happen here.

There seems to be no end in sight
Of this continuing saga.
The Statue of Liberty now wears
A red cap saying "MAGA."

-by Bob B (8-23-25)

The Bible has some interesting characters.
We can see in stanzas and rhymes
How they might have received some help
If they'd been living in modern times.

Lot, for example, had a drinking problem.
The man got drunk and slept with his daughter.
Actually with two! Advice to Lot:
Go to A.A. and stick with water.

An inferiority complex
Must have driven the angry Cain.
No matter what he did, he always
Seemed to incur God's disdain.
  
In searching for pairs of all animals on earth,
Noah's compulsion crossed the border
Of what today we would call
An obsessive-compulsive personality disorder.
 
Saul had to be extremely bipolar.
Talk about mood swings! On different occasions
He tried to **** David, who luckily escaped
By the skin of his teeth and with no abrasions.
 
If someone--like Solomon--had seven hundred wives
And three hundred concubines, we'd tend to say
That he had a number of serious issues,
But we don't want to go there today.
 
Moses talked to a burning bush,
Samuel and Elijah heard voices that told them
What to do. Now we’d say they
Were schizophrenic if voices controlled them.

Harod was really into himself;
He had to be highly narcissistic.
When Paul was persecuting the Christians,
His behavior was rather sadistic.
 
Without A.A. or psychiatrists,
Or drugs like Prozac, Zoloft, thorazine,
******, Haldol, Abilify, Lithium,
Seroquel, Xanax, Paxil, and clozapine,
 
Our Biblical characters were on their own--
To fend for themselves to carry out their mission,
Without medical insurance and someone
To say, "Get thee to a physician!"

- by Bob B

Marian Anderson was called
The "Voice of the Century" back in her time.
But her rise to fame and approval
Certainly wasn't an easy climb.

She knew when she was six years old
And sang in a choir at church that she
Planned to devote her life to music.
A well-trained singer was what she'd be.

The Philadelphia Musical
Academy was her glorious dream.
But she was told that "colored people"
Weren't allowed--a recurring theme.

And so she found a voice teacher
And tried to perform wherever she could.
Dance halls were a popular venue
Throughout the Harlem neighborhood.

When her New York Town Hall debut
Bombed as critics picked her apart,
In 1927 she sailed
To Europe, where she could polish her art.

Her time in Sweden, Germany,
Paris and London was time well spent.
Having developed her artistry,
Anderson triumphed wherever she went.

Germany in the 1930s…
******'s power grab gave her pause.
Anderson was dismayed to hear him
Praise America's Jim Crow laws.

Back to America she sailed,
Where she would be celebrated.
To packed houses she sang, although
Most of the venues were segregated.

At one moving performance Anderson
Entered the stage and faced the crowd.
Then she turned to the black section
With deep humility and bowed.

In 1939 the plan:
A concert at Constitution Hall.
However, the DAR° refused
To let her perform. Another wall.

She gave a concert instead on the steps
Of the Lincoln Memorial to powerful raves.
A giant crowd attended. Her voice
Was also transmitted on radio waves.

In 1950 Anderson married
Orpheus Fisher. Unusual name.
Way back when she was starting out,
Orpheus had been her old flame.

In 1955 the Met°°
Broke the color bar. That year
Anderson sang in an opera--
For some the capstone of her career.

In '63 once again
Marian Anderson broadened her scope
And sang at the March on Washington.
She refused to give up hope.

She died at the age of ninety-six.
For many years the world was blessed
With having this diva, who knew first-hand
What it was like to be oppressed.

Her rich, expressive, contralto voice
Had a vibrant, velvety sound.
She sang with beauty and poise and grace.
No wonder she was so renowned!

Listen to her sing "Deep River."
Note her phrasing, her voice control.
How can you hear her and not feel her voice
Penetrate your very soul?

-by Bob B (2-22-21)

°Daughters of the American Revolution
°°The New York Metropolitan Opera

According to the dictionary,
A PATHOLOGICAL LIAR would be
Someone who with great compulsion
Stretches the truth habitually.

A NARCISSIST would be a person
Showing an excessive preoccupation
With him- or herself and also displaying
Overwhelming self-admiration.

An exaggerated sense of self-
Importance also plays a part
In how the NARCISSIST behaves.
The person has very little heart.

Abnormally egotistical
And overly self-absorbed and conceited,
The EGOMANIAC can cause
A lot of damage if left untreated.

Being even one of the above
Would make people think you're a ****.
But if you were all THREE of them,
You'd be a real piece of work.

- by Bob B (2-10-17)

Diplomacy is a delicate thing.
The world is vast and complicated.
If leaders abandon protocol,
Their decisions can be ill-fated.

That's why leaders trust in advisers
With credibility--with ones who know
The world's great complexities:
What is correct and what's a no-go.

Gracefully diving into matters
Is better than doing a belly flop.
We need someone who leads with finesse
And not a bull in a china shop.

-by Bob B (12-3-16)

All is NOT well in the grasslands.
The animals are fit to be tied.
The actions of the crafty wolves
Have left the rest of them horrified.

"How will we EVER be able
To keep democracy afloat,"
The antelope asked, "if the wolves
Don't allow us all to vote?

"In many sections of these grasslands,
Shameless wolves are doing their best
To hold voter registration
Hostage, keeping voters suppressed."

"They aim to control voter turnout,"
The deer added. "That's their hope.
Their sneaky ways to manipulate
Elections push the envelope!

“They stall and seek petty reasons
To take names off voting lists.
Fair and honest elections are
In jeopardy if this persists.”

"It's so close to election day,
Our courts are reluctant to raise objections,"
The buffalo said. "Some of the wolves
Are even running in the elections!

"Humph! They stole a Supreme Court justice.
Then they rammed another one through.
Now they're still suppressing voters.
What more damage will they do?"

"Winnowing down voter rolls!
Their strategies should be illegal!"
The fox chimed in. Looking around,
He asked, "Where is our dear friend Eagle?"

The absent eagle wanted no
Responsibility tied to her name.
She couldn't stop the out-of-control
Wolves, and hid her head in shame.

-by Bob B (10-19-18)

Deregulation.
Deregulation.
That's what Trump says
Is going to save the nation.

To hell with the environment
And social media activist memes.
Let the coal industry dump
Coal debris in rivers and streams.

Forget greenhouse gas emissions.
There are rules to rearrange,
Repeal, expunge, delete, rescind…
Who cares about climate change?

Good-bye to banking restrictions.
Give tighter controls the ax.
Down with all consumer protections!
Three cheers for Goldman Sachs!

Who needs the EPA?
Why do all the activists seethe
When factories pollute the air?
The air is JUST something we breathe.

Caveat emptor--
That's the rule that's going to last.
Caveat venditor
Will become a thing of the past.

Benefiting the 1%
Has to be a worthwhile goal.
How else will those at the top
Keep the people under control?

Through rollbacks in regulations
Runs one common thread:
Relief for the corporations;
The rest of us can all drop dead.

Deregulation.
Deregulation.
That, according to Donald Trump,
Is going to save the nation.

- by Bob B (4-17-17)

Watch out, or you will find that you're
On President Trump's Enemies List,
For democratic values and Donald
Trump cannot coexist.

Former CIA Director
John Brennan, now has learned
That when it comes to silencing critics,
Trump will leave no stone unturned.

After hearing Brennan's critical
Words, the angry Trump was stewing.
Bam! He revoked Brennan's security
Clearance despite no wrongdoing.

The crazed, vindictive leader called
John Brennan's behavior "erratic."
Muzzling the freedom of speech, Trump's
Becoming more autocratic.

The office of the presidency
Has never, ever been sullied so.
This vicious attack on our First Amendment
Rights is a terrible blow.

Trump accused Brennan of making
"Baseless charges." Real translation:
Brennan didn't hail Trump
With sycophantic adoration.

On Trump's list are others who
Might lose clearances as well.
Here his lack of integrity
And pettiness have no parallel.

Another motive for Trump's action
Is more diabolical yet:
He wants to strip the power away
From all people who might be a threat

Because of their connection to
The Russia probe. That makes sense.
As more dots are being connected,
The situation is growing tense.

While servile Republicans in Congress
Defend their despotic president,
Let Brennan's powerful words
Resound: "I will not relent."

-by Bob B (8-16-18)

The Right bombards Facebook with ads—
Something that’s not rare.
However, lies fill the ads,
And Facebook doesn’t care.

Zuckerberg says that anyone has
The right to advertise.
People, he says, should know how
To tell the truth from lies.

Yes, if they're informed they should,
But if they form their views
From reading only the president's tweets
And watching only Fox News,

Then we have a BIG problem--
A real contradiction--
For how are they EVER going to be able
To separate fact from fiction?

-by Bob B (12-14-19)

IF a warning falls on deaf ears,
Does it make a sound?
If people are led astray, can they
Eventually come round?

The more Trump talks, the more we can
See a mental decline.
We can also see that he
Has truly crossed the line.

He says the country is overrun
By criminals Brown and Black.
So people of color and immigrants
Are under constant attack.

Execution or deportation
Are two parts of his plan--
And with the help of the military!
Oh, he's a dangerous man.

Never before has America
Faced such a dire threat.
And people who fear Trump's rhetoric
Have reason to be upset.

Many disenchanted people
Are looking for someone to hate.
As Trump hands them scapegoats, they're
Willing to take the bait.

"Evil" people "infect" this country.
That is what he claims.
Immigrants and Democrats
Are the ones he blames.

The race science of Naziism
Clearly comes out in his speeches.
War zones, "illegals," and migrant crime:
That is what he preaches.

Experts have warned us what a second
Term for Trump would mean:
A scary nation, the likes of which
Here we've never seen.

-by Bob B (10-14-24)

Trump's picks for his Cabinet
Are in-your-face kinds of picks.
It's obvious from what he's doing
That he is up to his old tricks.

He doesn't want the FBI
To be involved in the nominees' vetting,
Which Democrats and conscientious
Republicans find very upsetting.

For Secretary of Defense,
Pete Hegseth, a veteran who
Displays as part of his body art
A white supremacist tattoo?

Tulsi Gabbard as DNI°
Who couldn't pass a background check
Because she's compromised by Russia?
Trump's feelings: What the heck?

Matt Gaetz as Attorney General--
A grifter and a trouble-maker
Accused of ***-trafficking?
For Trump that's NOT a deal breaker.

Hegseth, Gabbard, and Gaetz are all
Deeply unfit for such positions.
A competent president wouldn't
Select them under any conditions.

It’s almost as if in making his choices
Trump is trying to deride
All of us by asking himself,
"Who is the most unqualified?"

Will Republicans cave in
To pressure from Trump or show some spine
And tell him no when he attempts
To sidestep rules and cross the line?

-by Bob B (11-16-24)

°Director of National Intelligence

Discover your inner music and dance!
Sing your song with glee.
Let your ability to be yourself
Light up your glowing marquee.

Accept yourself; be kind to yourself;
And be considerately bold.
Don't let purveyors of mediocrity
Force you into a mold.

Proclaim your individuality.
Be humble yet self-assured.
Don't let the light of your heartfelt endeavors
Ever be obscured.

So what if you are not like others.
If you want to go far,
Keep your focus, follow your heart,
And simply be who you are.

Be impervious to scornful mutterings.
See through hypocrites and fakes.
Don't let others' weaknesses cause you
To imitate their mistakes.

Be attentive to those around you,
But go where your inner guides take you.
Don't let the sticklers for conventionality
Stifle your song or break you.

Appreciate every single moment;
Try to maintain good cheer.
Trust in yourself and realize
There's nothing, there's no one to fear.

- by Bob B

We have walked on the moon
And zoomed into outer space.
Messages travel the world
At a breath-taking pace.

We've landed rovers on Mars
And scoured the depths of the sea,
Snapped close-ups of Saturn
And explored to the nth degree.

We've studied the changing climate,
Prevented many a disease,
And invented artificial
Limbs and hips and knees.

We've made great strides fighting cancer;
New studies are taking root
In the area of quantum physics
And molecular biology to boot.

With all this amazing progress
We're still miles behind
When it comes to opening
The human heart and mind.

Misinformation takes precedence
Over rational thought;
Forgetfulness erases
The lessons we were taught.

Awareness, compassion, empathy…
Where have they gone?
Distrust, fear, and hatred
Ruthlessly live on.

It's almost as though some governments
Are insidiously in sync
At being flagrantly negligent
Of encouraging people to think.

More than ever it's crucial
To distinguish truth from lies.
It's incumbent on us
To open resistant eyes.

How do we treat other people?
Our human actions show,
That despite our advancements,
We have a long way to go.

- by Bob B

Distractions! Distractions! Trump LOVES to distract us,
And while he is doing it, he MAKES his own rules.
Whether it's Panama, Greenland, or Canada,
He keeps on rambling and thinks we are fools.

His LACK of coherence, his constant annoying
And petty retaliatory remarks
Are really quite worrisome. Watch how he caters
To all of his cronies and rich oligarchs.

To serve as his hatchet man, Trump has appointed
His billionaire buddy, and he by and large
Should take all the heat, but when questioned the liar
Says, No, Elon Musk really ISN'T in charge.

Constantly signing executive orders
That limit our rights and display his disdain
For truth and democracy, Trump doesn't care about
Those who are suffering. Look at Ukraine!

So while he's distracting us, Cabinet members
And others are tearing this country apart.
This is so obvious: he's Putin's puppet
And Putin is someone he'll never outsmart.

Medical research and Social Security:
Two of our programs now under attack.
And overseas aid and our trusty post office…
So many cuts that it's hard to keep track!

There are Trump voters who say they are shocked about
All of the damage that he has been doing.
But if they had only been paying attention,
They would have noticed that it had been brewing.

It is incumbent on all concerned people
To keep a clear focus and not take Trump's bait.
Despite what he says to us, he is most certainly
Hurting this country and WON'T make it great.

May all the protests increase their momentum.
May voices of protestors let it be known
That WE won't put up with the Trump-regime carnage.
The king of lies MUST be removed from his throne.

-by Bob B (3-25-25)

Feeling empowered by president-elect
Trump, racist groups are emerging,
While in the past couple weeks
The number of hate crimes has been surging.

Over the past weekend a group
Celebrated the recent election
With Richard Spencer giving a speech
That shows the group's true complexion.

Spencer, current leader of
The National Policy Institute,
Ended his speech with "Hail, Trump!"
While listeners gave the **** salute.

The speech, referring to a "great struggle"
Of the white race--"people of the sun"--
Was full of white ethnocentric
Jargon, boldly and hatefully spun.

Sounding like ****** in MEIN KAMPF,
Spencer is one who advocates
Ethnic cleansing all across
Europe and the United States.

Groups once on the fringe now feel
That Trump and Steve Bannon provide
A platform for them to spread their hate
And bigotry nationwide.

Unless Trump speaks out and condemns
Hate groups using his name to spread
Their racist messages, then this country
Faces scary times ahead.

- by Bob B (11-22-16)

The FBI has a faction
That's bordering on insurrection
As it tries hard to influence
The current presidential election.

One member even reported,
"This is Trumpland." Not very smart.
There clearly are some scoundrels here
Trying to upset the applecart.

Basing their findings on a sham book,
They're leaking "secret" information.
Politics shouldn't eclipse their main
Task, which is investigation.

Members of the FBI
Can vote for anybody they please.
However, they have to be very careful
Not to misuse their expertise.

I guess in any organization
You'll find some who abuse their positions.
An independent agency,
The FBI must heed admonitions.

(11-4-16) By Bob B

Kellyanne Conjob rushed to defend
Trump's penchant for telling lies.
The repercussions of his untruths
She smilingly tried to minimize.

Her brazenly obnoxious comments
Simply add fuel to the fire
And diminish her credibility
When she bolsters the words of a liar.

Excusing impropriety
Is clearly what she's doing, and yet her
Remarks make him sound foolish when
She says he doesn't know any better.

According to Kellyanne's logic here--
And give her a D minus for trying--
Trump is not telling untruths
If he doesn't believe he is lying.

- by Bob B (7-26-17)

The recent Trumpcare plan encountered
Limited chances for survival.
It hacked away at Obamacare
And found itself dead on arrival.

The plan was altered to have more appeal
To the House Freedom Caucus. Why?
The House Freedom Caucus supports
The freedom to get sick and die.

Cutting ten essential services°
Made the proposed plan a sham
By turning it into a possible
Nightmarish insurance scam.

Praise to the members of Congress who
For the RIGHT reasons boldly decried
The plan proposed by Paul Ryan--
A plan laced with cyanide.

Affordable health care for all
Should be our principal goal.
Profit-making insurance companies
Shouldn't be getting out of control.

Trump says, "Let's just watch
Obamacare keep imploding,"
As saboteurs continue to take
Shots at the plan and keep reloading.

Republican leaders don't really want
To fix what we have, to tweak or massage it;
They want to see Obamacare fail
By letting companies sabotage it.

People first, then money.
Let's keep our priorities straight
And not let cold avarice thrive
While health and compassion disintegrate.

(3-25-17) By Bob B

°Ten essential services to be cut:
1. outpatient care
2. emergency room trips
3. in-hospital care
4. pregnancy, maternity and newborn care
5. mental health and substance abuse disorder services
6. prescription drugs
7. rehabilitative services
8. lab tests
9. preventive services
10. pediatric services

I never used to swear that much.
Really. But things have changed.
It's hard to keep from doing it when
One's president is deranged.

His constant tweets are maddening.
I really have to admit
That when I read them, I say he's full of
A word that rhymes with "spit."

To watch his reckless and smug demeanor
Makes me rather sick.
I can't help thinking he acts just like
A word that rhymes with "trick."

When I'm really incensed and feel
He's acting like a schmuck,
Before I can stop it, a word slips out--
A word that rhymes with "duck."

As I watch him destroy this country,
A phrase emerges, which
Starts with the word "son" and ends
With a word that rhymes with "twitch."

When he lies, my sense of decorum
Is difficult to sustain,
And I cannot refrain from taking
A certain name in vain.

When I've lost it, I say that he's--
And I am totally frank--
A blankety-blank, blankety-blanking
Blankety blankety blank.

I know that losing one's cool is not
Behavior considered sublime,
But what the heck? The president
Cusses all the time.

-by Bob B (10-15-20)

Does the world bribe you to betray yourself--
To try to make you fit inside a mold?
Does it try to tempt you with complacency--
To dominate you with its stranglehold?

Do you feel the pressure when it says to you
That what you see is really not the truth?
Has it often emphasized conformity
And stifled your ambitions since your youth?

Does it wear you down with its seductiveness,
Even though you see through all its charms?
Do its threats to curb originality
Manifest themselves as false alarms?

Have you found the courage to resist the ploys
And everything society might do
To make you who you aren't when you'd much prefer
To be and show the world the real you?

-by Bob B (3-2-22)

(Can be sung to the melody of Frank Sinatra's "My Way")

For TWO years now I've been
The mighty leader of this nation,
But I can't stand it when
I don’t receive great adoration.

Believe me when I say
My way's the ALWAYS-best-to-lie way.
And you can do it too
By doing things my way.

Mueller is going strong.
I am sick of his **** query.
But they've all got it wrong.
They can't prove their stupid theory.

My fans KNOW my style is NOT
A JUST-lay-down-and-die way.
I have gotten by
By doing things my way.

My tryst with Stormy and my fling
With that McDougal woman bring
So much grief into my life,
Especially with my wife.
But, nonetheless, I will confess
I love things my way.

And now I want my wall;
If I don't get it some will suffer.
I will shut things down
Just to show I'm not a bluffer.

You can dupe the world
With simply the "M" "Y" way.
So I will not deny
I love things MY way.

I've had to fire more than a few
'Cause they say things that are untrue.
And my toadies on the Hill
All bow down; they know the drill.
They know the ways to get my praise:
Just do things my way.

Yes, do things my way.

-by Bob B (1-16-19)


2017 and 2018 VERSIONS:

DOING THINGS MY WAY (1):
(THE INAUGURATION SONG)

(Can be sung to the melody of Frank Sinatra's "My Way")

And so, I'm standing here
To say an oath and pledge allegiance.
Though some will cry and jeer
And accuse me of malfeasance,

The fact that I can stand
Before you now in a tough-guy way
Proves that you can play it through
By doing things my way.

Yes, I've stiffed a few,
But that's my disposition.
That's what you have to do
To carry forth your mission.

I knew what I was doing;
I was acting in a sly way.
Just do what I tell you
And do things my way.

You might not like the things I say
Or what I do, but that's okay.
Celebs like me all have it made.
Just don't drop the masquerade.
It's all the same; just play the game
And do things my way.

I've had three wives. So what!
I've had just two divorces.
The news? Don't watch that ****.
I have found better sources.

I didn't get this far
By choosing the just-get-by way.
Since life is dog eat dog
Just do things my way.

You'll always find someone to cheat.
Remember: don't admit defeat.
There's nothing wrong with being rude.
At times be crass; at times be lewd.
Make up the rules; treat them like fools
By doing things my way.

Yes, do things my way.

(1-19-17) By Bob B


DOING THINGS MY WAY (2)
(SEVENTEEN MONTHS AFTER THE INAUGURATION)

(Can be sung to the melody of Frank Sinatra's "My Way")

Despite all that you hear,
I'm doing great; I'm number one now.
My made-up "truths" endear
Me to my base; we're having fun now.

My ranting and my raving
Show that mine's not the small fry way.
You'll win…you'll win much more
By doing things my way.

I wish the FBI
Would stop investigating.
They know too much. That's why
It is all so aggravating.

I never liked a wuss
Who would take the humble pie way.
No, I am much more ruthless
Doing things my way.

I've told some lies, once in a while…
Well, every day, but that's my style.
My Congress *****, have got my back.
At the right time we'll attack.
I plot and scheme for my regime
By doing things my way.

Putin's my friend, oh,
And Kim Jong Un and I are buddies.
Merkel and Trudeau?
My goodness, they're such fuddy-duddies.

All I have to do
Is just display my evil eye way,
And I'll get what I want
'Cause it is my way.

I am the law; that's plain to see.
And very few are smart like me.
I will say what comes to mind,
And I don't care if it's unkind.
A little greed helps you succeed
When doing things my way.

Yes, do things my way.

-by Bob B (6-26-18)

(This poem could be sung to the melody of "Frosty the Snowman" by Jack Rollins and Steve Nelson.)

Donald the showman
Is a miracle they say,
For it always seems that despite his schemes,
He always gets away.

Donald the showman
Is a grifter and a con.
Though a real nutcase, if you ask his base,
He's their "father"; he's their don.

His recent big announcement was
New digital trading cards.
Supporters bought them up and then
They all sent him their regards.

Yes, Donald the showman
Has been conning all his life.
People shout out "Wow!" and they wonder how
He could ever keep a wife.

Donald the showman
Wants to win a second term,
But as walls close in and as ice grows thin,
You can watch the con man squirm.

His picture's on his trading cards;
His ego knows no bounds.
The more he speaks, the more he rants,
The crazier he sounds.

Donald the showman
Will invite you to his pad
If you make the news with extremist views.
That will surely make him glad.

Donald the showman
Looks for folks to string along.
He thinks he'll stay free with impunity,
But let's hope that he is wrong.

Trumpity-Trump-Trump,
Trumpity-Trump-Trump…
Will he ever see…
Trumpity-Trump-Trump,
Trumpity-Trump-Trump…
Accountability?
­
-by Bob B (12-18-22)

If you care about our friends,
Sound the alarm and spread the word:
Do not let your hummingbird feeder
**** your visiting hummingbird.

What a pleasure it is to watch
The little critters hover and dip
And dart and dash and land on our feeders,
Looking for sweet nectar to sip!

Enjoying their daily visits, we want
To offer help to our little pals.
But if we're negligent, we might
Be killing the little guys and gals.

The nectar in your feeder must
Be changed every five days or so.
Otherwise, the birds could die.
This is very important to know.

If a fungus grows in the nectar,
There will be a complication:
The birds will sip it, their tongues will swell,
And then they'll die of cruel starvation.

I don't mean to make you depressed
Or increase your apprehensions,
But sometimes human beings can cause
Harm despite our best intentions.

-by Bob B (1-16-20)

Do not live for tomorrow.
Try to discover how
To cherish every moment--
To live in the here and now.

Appreciate your loved ones.
Let their lives express
A deep connection to
Your inner consciousness.

Be sensible, though.
Don’t squander away
That which gives you a sense of
Security today.

Make the best of every
Moment, whether it be
One that’s filled with sadness,
Or one that’s filled with glee.

When your time is up--
Something you can’t forestall--
It would be sad to find out
That you never lived at all.

-by Bob B (2-8-21)

A message to the POTUS...

Do not tell me while thousands of people
Are dying each week, that you see an end
To what has been a devastating
Pandemic. What? We're rounding the bend?

Do not tell me that just because
You survived COVID-19
With mild symptoms, that you have the right
To push your propaganda machine.

Do not tell me how much you care
About the American people when
All your super-spreader events
Endanger lives again and again.

Do not tell me how proud you are
Of all you've done to fight the virus.
The people know the truth of the matter,
And all of your lies continue to tire us.

Do not tell me that you know more
Than credible experts and choose instead
To listen to someone who spoke on Fox News,
Merely because you liked what he said.

Do not tell me that you can't see
The damage you've done by failing to act.
All your efforts to hide the truth
Exacerbated the danger, in fact.

Do not tell me that I should be willing
To risk my life and then wish me well--
That I'll help save the economy.
Frankly, you can go to hell.

-by Bob B (10-27-20)

Florida wants to show
Its hateful, nasty side
By lashing out at gays
With zeal that it won't hide.
Governor DeSantis
Will not be outdone.
He wants to make a case
Where there's really none.
But who cares what
DeSantis has to say?
Turn his words around
And don't be afraid to say gay.

Other states will now
Attempt to follow suit
With explanations that
They will convolute.
It matters not to them
What is right or wrong.
It's just a culture war
That nudges them along.
When states try to put
Their bigotry on display,
Turn their words around
And don't be afraid to say gay.

Using toxic words
Like "groomers" to suggest
That anyone who's gay
Is on a lecherous quest,
Backers of the bills
Frequently beguile
Voters with the use
Of worlds like "*******."
When fanatics try
To bully you this way,
Turn their words around
And don't be afraid to say gay.

Autocratic rulers,
Backed by troglodytes,
Scorn intolerance
And stomp on human rights.
Don’t let other people
Intimidate you. No!
Just be who you are,
And tell them where to go.
Love is love is love,
So don't be led astray.
Turn their words around
And don't be afraid to say gay.

-by Bob B (4-11-22)

(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.)

Florida wants to show
Its hateful, nasty side
By lashing out at gays
With zeal that it won't hide.
Governor DeSantis
Will not be outdone.
He wants to make a case
Where there's really none.
But who cares what
DeSantis has to say?
Turn his words around
And don't be afraid to say gay.

Other states will now
Attempt to follow suit
With explanations that
They will convolute.
It matters not to them
What is right or wrong.
It's just a culture war
That nudges them along.
When states try to put
Their bigotry on display,
Turn their words around
And don't be afraid to say gay.

Using toxic words
Like "groomers" to suggest
That anyone who's gay
Is on a lecherous quest,
Backers of the bills
Frequently beguile
Voters with the use
Of words like "*******."
When fanatics try
To bully you this way,
Turn their words around
And don't be afraid to say gay.

Autocratic rulers,
Backed by troglodytes,
Despise tolerance
And stomp on human rights.
Don’t let other people
Intimidate you. No!
Just be who you are,
And tell them where to go.
Love is love is love,
So don't be led astray.
Turn their words around
And don't be afraid to say gay.

-by Bob B (4-11-22)

In this growing autocracy
That too many people are getting behind,
Folks are getting in trouble for merely
Saying the truth and speaking their mind.

ABC journalist Terry Moran
Was fired from the network for having said
That Stephen Miller's° a "world-class hater."
He hit the nail right on the head!

That's what Stephen Miller is--
A "world-class hater" through and through.
His neo-**** rhetoric
Is really bizarre, for he is a Jew.

James Comey°° is also in trouble
For what he'd written in the sand:
86 47.
He was merely taking a stand.

Because of what Mr. Comey had written,
Trump called on the FBI
To carry out an investigation,
For Comey he'd LOVE to crucify.

86 47.
I'll say it now; I'll say it again:
86 47,
About Donald Trump, the vilest of men.

If Miller and Trump would like to keep
Attacks on them from percolating
Through news sources everywhere,
Maybe they should both stop hating.

-by Bob B (6-11-25)

°Aide to Donald Trump
°°Former FBI director

They say we must be careful
Not to spread our germs.
Here's a situation with which
We've got to come to terms.
Viruses can be deadly--
Especially one like this.
This one isn't one that we
Can easily dismiss.

Wash your hands with soap,
Cover your mouth when you sneeze,
And do not touch your face with unwashed
Hands, geez Louise!
Avoid crowded spaces
To keep the virus from spreading.
To extreme social distancing:
That's where we are heading.

If you have a symptom
That makes you nervous, you
Should first of all not panic because
It might be the flu.
Stay home and be cautious;
Be sure to isolate
Yourself from others, for COVID-19
Doesn't discriminate.

If your test results
Indicate that yes,
You have caught the virus, then
Don't run to the press.
Let your doctor know.
To do that don't think twice.
Do everything in your power to follow
The doctor's sound advice.

Let's all do our part
To get this under control
So life can go on as before.
That should be our goal.
However, if you choose
To live life recklessly,
And end up catching the virus, well,
Don't give it to me!

-by Bob B (3-18-20)

Don't hoard all the toilet paper!
Leave some for the rest of us.
There's enough to go around,
So we have a right to make a fuss.

Don't go crazy buying masks.
Leave some for the medical staff
Who badly need protective gear.
Spread the word on their behalf.

Why keep hoarding bottled water?
Water from the tap is fine.
Get a water purifier
If yours is not a good as mine.

Disinfectant wipes? Come on!
Do you need them ALL for yourself?
Couldn't you just take your share
And leave a few for me on the shelf?

Paper towels? Purell? Also
Disappearing round the clock.
Do we have to ration items
To keep a few more things in stock?

Do not fill the ER, please,
Unless you have an emergency,
Because if I get seriously ill,
I want there to be a spot for me.

There are a few things you should hoard:
Try hoarding common sense,
Responsibility, and caution.
Knowledge is our best defense.

Corncobs? They are out of the question.
It would put my mind at ease
If everybody followed directions.
Do not hoard the TP, please!

-by Bob B (3-23-20)

The world has fickle ways, Marie.
Winds of discontent keep blowing.
Gratitude drowns in despair.
Sometimes it's hard to keep on going.
Alliances are doomed to fail
When the light inside grows dim.
The world becomes a dangerous place
When human reason gives in to whim.

Are you a victim of circumstances?
Of family ambitions? Possibly.
Do you know enough to know
That knowing might have set you free?
Are you completely oblivious
When people drag your name through the mud?
What about the rumors that you
Desire to bathe in the people's blood?

Don't lose your head, Marie.
Keep your cool. Think about it.
The reason is simple: you know there's
Not much you can do without it.

Are you using others, or is it
More that others are using you?
We know your penchant for lavish spending
Isn't hard to misconstrue.
Did you really plaster your walls
With gold and diamonds? Please say no.
Denying it won't help you now.
It was the gossip long ago.

Public opinion is not based
On wisdom, reason, and facts, my dear.
I wish I were able to tell you that
Rumors and talk are nothing to fear.
A high profile is all that you need
For people with minds cruel and perverse
To criticize your character
Or--heaven forbid!--do something worse.

Don't lose your head, Marie.
Keep your cool. Think about it.
The reason is simple: you know there's
Not much you can do without it.

- by Bob B

You don't have to live in fear
Or be a germaphobe
To be on guard when a pandemic
Spreads around the globe.
Erring on the side of caution
Makes a lot of sense.
The benefits of wise and prudent
Behavior are immense.

So, don’t put your mask away;
Put it to excellent use.
You don’t like the way it feels?
That’s a poor excuse.
If you're asked to wear a mask,
Don't raise holy hell.
Wearing a mask could save your life
And other lives as well.

For certain inexplicable reasons
Some people are loath
To do something that might prevent
The exponential growth
Of COVID-19, a nasty virus
That hasn't left the scene.
It would be nice not to have to
Self-quarantine.

So, don’t put your mask away;
Put it to excellent use.
You don’t like the way it feels?
That’s a poor excuse.
If you're asked to wear a mask,
Don't raise holy hell.
Wearing a mask could save your life
And other lives as well.

Someday we can look forward to
Not having to wear
A mask that covers our nose and mouth
And seems to cut off our air.
For now, let's all cooperate,
And please do not revile
A practice, which--though not so fun--
Is certainly worth our while.

So, don’t put your mask away;
Put it to excellent use.
You don’t like the way it feels?
That’s a poor excuse.
If you're asked to wear a mask,
Don't raise holy hell.
Wearing a mask could save your life
And other lives as well.

-by Bob B (6-11-20)

Despite what people want to believe,
COVID hasn’t disappeared,
And yet there's less attention being given
To masks and precautions, which is weird.

The virus continues to mutate, and though
It's maybe less potent than earlier forms,
The clouds haven't dissipated,
So we can expect future storms.

Even though the virus seems weaker,
People still grow ill and die.
The vaccinated are more protected;
There's no need to wonder why.

It's sad to see restrictions being
Lifted too early in certain cases.
Variants of the virus are spreading
Rapidly in certain places.

Conspiracy theories abound regarding
The COVID vaccine, sad to say.
But I'll take my chances with the vaccine
Over COVID any day.

And if you think that COVID was bad,
Experts warn us not to be smug.
Chances are good that in the future
We will see a deadlier bug.

In the meantime, I'll keep getting
My booster shot, and I know I'm
Going to be wearing my mask in buildings
And also on planes for a long, long time.

-by Bob B (4-21-22)

Thomas could be rude.
The guy was always stewed
And had a reputation in the town.

Not much of a thinker,
The wild, rambunctious drinker
Was met by local townsfolk with a frown.

He had a couple buddies--
Similar case studies--
Who would often sit with him and drink.

It seems they gave their all
To drinking alcohol.
Not a healthy life, do you think?

The three of them were single,
So often they would mingle
With ladies who would show up at the bar.

But surely you can guess
That their limited success
Resulted from their drunken repertoire.

Thomas then confided
In his buddies and decided
That self-improvement meant a different tack.

He cut down on his drinking
And applied some wishful thinking,
Hoping he could find he had the knack.

As you'd have it, fate
Stepped up to the plate
And brought into the bar a gal named Sue.

Thomas took a chance
And asked Sue for a dance--
Something that was hard for him to do.

With soda as his savior
And on his best behavior,
Surprisingly, he made a good impression.

Dancing through the night,
The couple was a sight,
With Tom avoiding any indiscretion.

It wasn't long before
The two walked out the door.
Into the night they slyly disappeared.

Four or five months later
The nightclub's nosy waiter
Said he'd noticed something very weird:

He said that while eavesdropping
At a store where they were shopping,
He heard them talk of love and other things.

While standing there and staring,
He noticed they were wearing
Shiny, flashy, silver wedding rings.

The two had gotten married.
No, they hadn't tarried.
Now they could enjoy connubial bliss.

But when they both returned
To the nightclub we all learned
From watching them that something was amiss.

What had occurred to Thomas?
He hadn't kept his promise:
That he would change his wild, rambunctious ways.

It was very clear:
Sue had had it up to here.
She could tell this wasn't just a phase.

It went from bad to worse
As though there'd been a curse
Upon their marriage. Wasn't it a shame?

One day Sue departed.
Tom was broken hearted,
But he would not accept an ounce of blame.

Sometimes people don't--
Or maybe they just won't--
See the errors of their ways and change.

Eventually, of course,
Sue filed for divorce,
Which wasn't unexpected or so strange.

Thomas cried real tears
And guzzled down his beers,
And after he had reached beer number ten,

He'd mention Sue, but we
Knew WHAT was meant to be,
And none of us ran into Sue again.

So what then is the lesson?
I won't keep you guessin'.
You can live a good life if you choose.

However, if the sauce
Takes over as your boss,
Then use your head and say good-bye to *****!

-by Bob B (7-23-23)

Donald Trump's potential appointees
For high positions are quite scary.
Some have dubious qualifications
And border on being reactionary.

General Flynn as Security Adviser--
Conspiracy theory peddler supreme.
Could Trump find anyone else
Whose wacky ideas are more extreme?

Peddling the lie that Hillary Clinton
Was involved with *** crimes with kids,
Flynn has spread outrageous notions--
Notions that common sense forbids.

There's also appointee Scott Pruitt.
What sense does it make to hire
Someone to head the EPA
Who's a climate change denier?

Some of these people would threaten the very
Institutions they're supposed to serve.
From all of the possible qualified people,
The choice of these strikes a nerve.

For Secretary of Education
Another name for this ship of fools:
Betsy DeVos--an outspoken
Enemy of public schools!

And Ben Carson in charge of HUD?
Someone out there has to voice
Objections to this appointee who
Thinks that being poor is a choice.

To work in his administration,
Trump said he would find the best.
The choices above aren't very
Promising, along with the rest:

Billionaires and generals
Parading before our eyes with pomp.
So that's what Trump meant when he
Said he was going to "drain the swamp."

-by Bob B (12-8-16)

Environmental Protection Agency

Providing strength in diversity
And beautiful variety,
Like strands of gold woven into
The fabric of society,

Our Dreamers here greatly enrich
American communities.
How callous it would be to close
Doors to opportunities!

Their contributions to our country
Should NOT be disregarded,
Buried in forgetfulness,
Ignored, or even discarded.

They didn't come here on their own;
Their parents brought them here.
Whatever the reasons for the move,
One thing is clear:

Brought here at an early age,
They grew to look ahead
And now have fewer ties to
The countries that they fled.

You might be an American
Citizen, but do
You understand that Dreamers are
As American as you?

-by Bob B (8-30-17)

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)