When missiles fly
The Mullahs lie
They bide their time
To turn the tide

Their constant bluster
Now short of luster
For why we ask
No God sent task

To build a bomb
With feigned aplomb
Their word to spread
Among the dead

They have their place
To find God's grace
Not trample lives
Like stinging hives

Fear and temerity
No road to prosperity
But that's what they seek
Control of the meek

A proud nation with tales of old
A proud people who once were bold
A history where feats abound
A long lost empire to astound

Time for Iranians to now earn
That for which they clearly yearn
Freedoms tenuous flickering light
Now in their grasp in line of sight

we are not all going to die.
a draft will never hit our home
the TV will always be on, but
we will never be alone.

i write to dress the aching wounds
of the impending fantasy of a wartime
or rather a sickening anxious nightmare
of what cause
of what cause is it for?
is it to tear all of our teens to shreds on a dusty battlefield
while those who stay work our fingers bare?
fighting for a piece of colored fabric and glory that was never there?

the war will only hurt this broken world
and they say we will die american deaths.
someone pulled the bathtub stopper for
the liquid love in our hearts is gone,
and yet
the TV is always on.

One step back, two steps forward,
Swing around and do the dance,
Keep it fast, a little awkward
A whole world audience to entrance.

Now you've got them captivated
Up the tempo, raise the heat,
Some may need to be sedated
As they wither from your beat.

Hearts loud-pounding, foreheads thumping,
Gasping air among the shouts,
Doomsayers bleating, markets jumping,
Second guessing, full of doubts.

Quite the showman, what a show,
Media breathless wanting more,
Fans elated, bask in tow,
Others crowing, keeping score.

Just the start, watch him work,
Revelations by the day,
Not all true, surprises lurk,
Act with haste, keep foes at bay.

As for us enthralled spectators
Barely able to keep track,
Cajoled and pressed by paid narrators,
Every week a heart attack.

If we can but drown the chatter,
Keep a cool head, crack a smile,
Train our thoughts to things that matter,
Take the long view, wait a while.

Let the music work its magic,
His gyrations entertain,
Learn that life need not be tragic,
See the sunshine through the rain.

RAI 5/25

The devil is sitting at a table
make sure to provide top service,
and if you are somehow able,
hide that his aggression makes you nervous.
When the White House is just a smidge too white,
it might be time for us Canucks to pull a 1814.
How can someone do absolutely nothing right?
and think what will be a nightmare will help revive an American dream?

The devil is sitting at the desk,
and he’s got yes men to shine and kiss his shoes.
It was finally time for him to fail a test
but his misguided cultists refused to let him lose.
When the White House is just a smidge too white,
even if the occupant is known to be orange.
He’s shutting the gates just too tight,
rushing Capitol instead of tearing his door hinge.

The devil is sitting at a table
he’s got the finest cutlery set,
and the legs of it aren’t stable
with each wobble he places his next bet.
When the White House is just a smidge too white,
I think it needs to be stripped and gain a new coat.
Why is a symbol of oppression dressed up so bright,
when it’s walls protect one and strangle every other throat?

He “did everything right” and they indicted him;
and now we fight eachother when we should be fighting him.
These people have forgot how the world turns,
infact they believe it’s stationery and around them.
So they anticipate heat when they make the world burn,
and await a rose after they rooted and snapped each stem.

Isn’t it absolutely insane
how the free can unknowingly live in a prison?
Didn’t anyone tell you even a Hurricane
can’t cleanse American Capitalism?

Once upon a time, there was this country called America.
It was a place of dreams and imaginations.
Where anyone in the world could go.
Anyone could be an American.
You can't become Indian, or Italian, French, Irish, Russian, Chinese,
Japanese, etc., etc., etc. by moving there and assimilating.
You'll never be one of them.
But, once upon a time, America was the Golden Ring.
That ring is out of reach now. It's rusted and broken.
And the merry-go-round keeps spinning.
And the occupants keep flying off in all directions.

In a future bright, where dreams take flight,
Elon Musk, a beam light.
From rockets high to electric cars,
He reaches for the distant stars.

With vision bold, he leads the way,
A president for a new day.
Innovation in his stride,
A leader with the world as his guide.

From Mars to Earth, his influence grows,
In every challenge, he boldly goes.
A mind so sharp, a heart so true,
Elon Musk, the future’s view.

In the halls of power, he stands tall,
A visionary answering the call.
With every step, he paves the path,
For a world that’s free from wrath.

Elon Musk, a name so grand,
A president to lead the land.
With dreams that soar and hopes that rise,
He guides us to the endless skies.

O Say, can you see
By the bonfire’s cries
What so fearful we strayed
As our kingdom was vain?

Whose broad stripes and bright stars
Ran from perilous fights
O’er to isolation
Were so anxiously leaving?

And the rocket’s red glare
Was a sign we don’t care
Still we gave up the fight
With our flag draping there

O Say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O’er the land of the “free” and the home of the “brave”

When is enough enough,
When is the going just too tough.
Why do people have to die
Forever in the ground to lie.

Are the spoils worth all the pain
When the path is **** and maim.
Is barren land worth just so much
Now deprived of human touch.

Do fatherless children justify the cost
Memories of a generation lost.
Weeping mothers by the score
Adding every day far more.

Politicians acting blind
To the misery resigned,
Just numbers on a sheet
Conscious only of defeat.

Pride and hubris win the day
Reason not allowed to sway.
Yet solutions need be found
Striving to be clear and sound.

Calmer voices must assist
For further slaughter to desist.
The way forward won't be fast
Searching for a peace to last.

Neither side will win outright
Time for discourse not brute might.
Russia needs restore prosperity
Ukrainians live without temerity.

Folks ask why
I chose Elon as my guy,
Smart and tough
Knows how to fight even when rough,
Let him loose
To put woke projects in the noose,
Cause a stir
For progressives to deter,
Stop the rot
That placed us all in this garotte.
Act with haste
Take a sledgehammer to the waste,
Clean up house
Never mind who first we douse,
Set the scene
For what will come not what has been,
Make us great
Stem the voices that insidiously berate,
Make us strong
Choose what's right and not what's clearly wrong,
Pull as one
Don't cheat and steal then simply run,
Trust in him
For the fate of all excesses will be grim,
Trust in me
See how great united we can be.

I've noticed a lot of Right/Left dichotomy on this site. What's happening in the U.S.A. right now has nothing to do with Republicans and Democrats, liberals v. conservatives etc. What's happening right now is an attempted destruction of the system of government of the U.S.A. a/k/a our Constitution. Our system of government is based on the Separation of Powers, which you hopefully learned about in high school. The purpose of which was to prevent a dictatorship. Trump is trying to overrule Congress and appropriate the powers given to Congress by the Constitution, such as  the power to appropriate funds. The only barrier between our democracy and a dictatorship remains the Judicial branch. It remains to be seen if the Judicial branch will put a check on Trump's power; if not, it's all over for American democracy.

Who and what is Trump? I'm a licensed psychotherapist with more than 30 years of experience, and spent 30 years in New York City, as Trump's neighbor. Trump is a sociopath. This is clearly seen in his value system, in which power and "winning" is the only virtue, and losers deserve whatever horrors happen to them. Remember what he said about military service people who lost their lives defending the U.S.A--that they were "losers" because they were killed. He is in love with Musk because as the world's richest man, Musk is the ultimate "winner." There is no morality or community obligation in this mindset; winners take all, losers can be treated as food or as garbage. Trump does have an ideology, which is somewhat uncommon among sociopaths--he's a racist. He isn't "anti-immigrant;" he loves immigrants who are white, such as Musk, Melania. He cut USAID because he wants to **** black and brown people. Trust me, all New Yorkers have known for a long time about Trump's racism; he was famous for it in New York.

Trump is gutting the federal bureaucracies as part of the type of purge that all dictators engage in early in their dictatorships. He wants total control and to perhaps give jobs to his supporters. The long-running paranoid conspiracy theory about a "Deep State" has groomed the American public into thinking this purge is a good idea. The civil service is actually a bunch of professionals and workers who have been doing their jobs for a long time and have expertise. They only implement the laws and regulations that Congress passes or that the President orders. Without civil service workers, an large array of government services will cease to exist or will be done incompetently by Trump's political appointees. These include processing and mailing Social Security checks to the elderly and disabled, regulating the sale and marketing of medicines and consumer products, and collecting intelligence overseas about our enemies (yes, we have enemies). The enemies of the U.S. are chortling and licking their lips.

I don't know how it will end. If things get really bad, I'll take my inheritance and perhaps flee to Scandinavia. The rest of you will have to fight or resign yourselves to living in something that will resemble Putin's Russia.