Let's sing a tale of honor and valor,
Of a legal trailblazer who always will be
Etched in our hearts as a fighter for causes
And known as Notorious RBG.

Criticized and sharply rebuked
For taking a "man's spot" at Harvard Law,
She had a legal intellect
And a glowing work ethic that left folks in awe.

Graduating first in her class
From Columbia Law, she would soon learn
That getting a job wouldn't be easy;
And unequal pay was a major concern.

The fearless fighter wouldn't give up.
Bound and determined, she'd do what was right
And struggle for women's equality.
Justice for all was her noble fight.

Nobody's put on a pedestal;
Equality means that treatment's the same.
That BOTH men and women have full
Citizenship stature was RBG's aim.

Her friendship with Justice Scalia showed
That politics did not have to divide us--
That we can conquer our disagreements
By letting our heart and wisdom guide us.

Words are important when sending a message.
That is what RBG took to heart.
In facing personal challenges,
Her inner strength played such a great part.

For many years she battled cancer
But never failed to keep up with her work.
Responsibility and duty
Were two things that you didn't shirk.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg: how we will miss her!
With sadness and heavy hearts we lament.
How we will miss her carefully thought-out
Rulings as well as her words of dissent!

She died on the eve of Rosh Hashanah
While folks were in the synagogues praying.
They say that righteous people die then.
With RBG, that goes without saying.

Remember this tale of honor and valor,
Of a legal trailblazer who always will be
Etched in our hearts as a fighter for causes:
Supreme Court Justice RBG.

-by Bob B (9-22-20)

so much depends
upon

an elderly Jewish
woman

possessing an acid
wit

and having survived
cancer

Masculinum Hyppeastrum,
monstrum;
the man eating
botanica,
the endlessly flowering plant,
had enough of me.

Went to sleep,
or worse,
he perished.

I must have said something nasty
about his size;
doesn't flower anymore,
all dried out,
doesn't do a thing,
his onion is weeping.

Christmas roses,
as I call the girls,
lost the will
to live.

All my,
previously green, flora
is pointing her leafless finger
at me.

I've done nothing,
that's the problem.
I forgot all about my green plants;

the environment is wrong,
there is too much acidity,
and that's my fault.

I will search
under the garden snow
for snow drops,
I left to themselves
two years
February,
my snow tears.

For colour,
I have lemons and limes,
green and yellow;
sitting on a traditionally,
blue, hand-painted
Chinese china platter.

River Yangtze
is still running through my mind.
Chai,

Lemon tea and lemonade.

~
Author Notes
Flowering plants from Bahia : Hyppeastrum sp.
From the 1970s, many plant novelties from Bahia
came to light with the expeditions carried out
by Howard Irwin and collaborators
of NYBG (USA) and by Raymond Harley
from RBG-Kew (UK). This provoked a renewal
of interest, among botanists, in the flora of Bahia

(3-1-07)

The thought of Justice
Given rights in the Constitution
RBG
It’s Judge Ruth Bader Ginsberg you see
She fought for Women’s Rights
It was at a time being a Women’s plight
Judge Ginsberg voice of persuasion
Her determination showing representation
Judge Ginsberg will be a legacy loss
She was one of Supreme Court’s victorious contributing force
The world will remember
Now Judge Ginsberg rests in Heaven’s slumber
Heaven has laws for her look at
Judge Ginsberg is now the Spiritual fact
Her work on Earth complete
Now her soul is in Heaven’s in God’s retreat
The Sundown was Judge Ginsberg work done
She is no longer among
Sunrise to Sundown being her footsteps
A Judge’s life in Heaven
Judge Ginsberg’s legacy is look up
I will be watching from Heaven above

Your loss will teach us what is at stake
Little girls and women will embrace your wisdom,grace and impact.
She knew a greater truth and lived it
Learning when to speak and not to do so
Being what you want to be and going after it
All children should have that opportunity
As a Brooklyn born girl,hopefully she will remain an icon and beacon for our future because too many people live in the past
Which means they fear any type of change
C@rainbowchaser2020

“I can’t breathe,” a nation on fire
Signs held high and voices higher
Wearing a mask while walking the streets
“No justice, no peace.”

A pandemic that stopped our world in its tracks
We silently wished for our lives to bounce back
6 months later, west coast fires
Hurricanes,  RBG expires.

We keep marching on as our world falls apart
Protests for equality, for our nation, a heart
Demands that shouldn’t have to be made
As America disintegrates.

How can we be considered the best
When so many basic needs are unmet
We’re hoping our best interests are sought
While we watch the news with fingers crossed.

But nows not the time to sit and observe
Now is the time to be seen, felt and heard
Voices unheard become outraged
Right now is the time for change.

A few in power write the rules for us all
So write, speak, march, call
It’s easy to ignore a whisper,
a verbal sprout, a ****, a whimper
But they can’t ignore a collective shout
It’s time to be heard and for them to find out.

By Elliott Blanchette

2020, what a year indeed!
For every nation, language and creed
For it exposed every good and bad deed
But it was a long lesson that we did all need.

In January, a tragedy worse than the heat of Nairobi
Was the death of a legend, a man we call Kobe
The world mourned, wept, wailed and did wonder
Was there more coming from 2020 over hill and yonder?
‘Twas then I heard of a virus
And no, not ammonia!
Was not crisp like a beer
But she was called Corona
In China, she sat, like a lioness ready to pounce
But leaked out onto foreign soil, ounce by ounce!

Trump was a man impeached
But by the start of February
He was acquitted of all charge
Was trial really necessary?

Then came a historic day
More seasoned than parsley
For the long last conviction
Of a man named Harvey
A filmmaking giant who fell from grace
All cause he never learned the value of personal space.

Then came March, my birth month of course
On the 9th day of the month, the stock market went hoarse.
Corona slipped onto our shining shores
Closing all of our venues, markets and stores

But wait, Trump said, let’s not let hope fester
We shall curb this little knock before Easter
April came and our hope seemed dim
Corona took human form and she was at the helm.

Then came May, a month I wish we could avoid
It all came to a head with a man called Floyd
A cop’s knee was upon him, as I watched the world seethe
As Floyd uttered his final words, “I can’t breathe!”
Like a volcano that just blew its top
Riots erupted and came full stop!

I watched in stunned silence as I saw two sides clash
With protestors and cops seeing each side bash.
Violence escalated and hatred doubled
I felt my heart sink, I was deeply troubled.

It spilled over into June, near the start of summer.
All nerves were on high!
My God, that was a ******!
It was then it occurred to me, yes I have a voice
To use it for hope and faith, and yes that was my choice.
There was another highlight
No need to be hiding
Look out USA, here’s Biden!
Tyson’s got nothing on him
Trump’s chances just got dim!

Now came July, with another strike
Bugs called ****** hornets came in a huge spike
They were like hoodlums intent on killing
Every honey bee and hive, their bee blood spilling!
I did much as I could to keep on living!
Until I learned of the death of Regis Philbin
Host of a great game show, if one would dare.
One called Who Wants to be a Millionaire!

August rolls around explosion and joy see
Beirut up in flames and Kamala as VP
But then tragedy struck again for Hollywood
We lost Chadwick Bozeman, the Black Panther that Could!
Our Wakandan salutes all up in the air
I asked God why Chadwick, it didn’t seem fair!
California had its own trauma
Fanning the flames
Consuming every forest
We are not playing games!

September brought another tragedy
A pioneer of change
Losing the great RBG and her great judicial range
A revered Supreme Court justice of the highest merit
Only to be replaced by a woman called Barrett.

In October, Corona reared its ugly head
As it went to attack the President instead
Many wished he went down, but it didn’t take him
Pretty soon he was back on the road on a whim.
Was it staged or was it all real?
Trump healed up way too quick, what’s the deal?

Then came that month, the dreaded November
It was served piping hot like a bowl of scorching embers!
For Trump, this month was all but fun
For old Joe Biden, it was a grand home run!
For gals everywhere, they were all, Yippee!
As Kamala Harris was elected the First Lady VP!
Yet another tragedy came, one that stung me in the neck
Was a beloved game show host called Alex Trebek.
Cancer took him severely and quietly too
Jeopardy won’t be the same, all fans cried boo-hoo!

Finally it was December
Not served as a burning timber
There was hope a-flaring
As far as I remember
Relief was coming and for all to be seen
An FDA-approved COVID-19 vaccine
Yes! I thought, my faith paid off
But local leaders would just look and scoff.
They bickered for months, allegedly on our behalf
When we got 600, they gave us the shaft.

This year was a hot mess
Every event in its cause
2020, oh 2020....the year that was!

Did my parents reunite?
Did they find my grandparents?
Siblings and other family and friends
Was my golden retriever there from the rainbowbridge?
Hard to be an adult orphan but I am now.
Sending hugs and love to those who left too soon
Photographs and memories comfort us
If there are such things as angels watching over us, all of us.
There is no heaven on earth right now
What matters simply does not matter any longer
RBG,we will never forget you.
Say Hi to my Mom another Brooklyn girl in Heaven

C@rainbowchaser2020