The Marcher

 THE MARCHER

She began marching as a girl.

            There was so much to march for or against.

There was nuclear weapons testing,

            There was the Vietnam War.

There were women's rights, gay rights,

            Native American rights, animal rights.

As she got older there was the fight the for ERA

            And a woman's right to an abortion.

There was the fight against nuclear power plants,

            Against fracking and oil pipe lines.

There was the fight against climate change.

            There was the fight for health care.

There was the fight against plant shutdowns,

            And the fight for a higher minimum wage.

Now she is an old woman,

            And she still marches,

Against Nazis, against ICE, against a power-mad

            Dictator determined to destroy democracy.

She has marched all her life,

            Because there is so much to march for,

                        Or against.

There has always been.

            And so she keeps marching.

Original Sin

 ORIGINAL SIN

Before the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth,

            African slaves landed at Jamestown.

After Columbus destroyed the Caribbean,

            African slaves replaced the natives.

After America abolished slavery,

            Slavery went on,

                        Brazil, Cuba, Puerto Rico.

Slavery is as old as Rome,

            Which felt Slavs

                        Made good slaves.

The Japanese Army

            Believed Korean women

                        Made good sex slaves.

In Africa, captured children

            Make good boy soldiers.

The powerful will always find someone,

            Weaker, smaller, younger,

                        To use and abuse.

            It is our Original Sin.

The Plague

 THE PLAGUE

There is a plague upon the land.

            It infects far and near.

It ravages the people.

            It empties the cities.

Fields ripe for the harvest groan,

            But no harvester comes.

Factories stand empty.

            Homes are abandoned.

Schools are silent.

            No one knows its source.

No one knows its cure.

            No one knows its duration.

The people cry for salvation.

            But there is no salvation.

There is only the plague upon the land.

Vernal Equinox

 VERNAL EQUINOX

The sun stands poised equally

            Between day and night.

Dark night has ruled faint day

            For many long months.

Now, for this one moment,

            The sun is in the balance.

And then the sun moves.

            Tomorrow belongs to the light,

And day will rule fading night.

                        The world rejoices.

Blood on the Snow

 BLOOD ON THE SNOW

Blood on the snow.

            The war goes on.

It doesn't matter which war.

            There are so many wars.

            ***************

Blood on the green grass.

            The war goes on.

It doesn't matter which war.

            ***************

Blood on the dry leaves.

            The war goes on.

            ***************

Blood on the snow.

St. Patrick's Day Lament

 ST. PATRICK'S DAY LAMENT

There is the promise of spring,

            But winter has not yet released

                        Its cold hand from the land.

                        **********

The daffodils were fooled.

            They lifted their yellow heads,

                        Thinking spring was here.

They were wrong.

            Now snow shrouds them

                        As it shrouds the land.

                        **********

But it is winter's last cold grasp upon the land.

            As St. Patrick drove the snakes

                        From the Emerald Isle,

So spring will soon drive winter

            From the shrouded land

And release us from its

            Last, cold, dying hand.

A Cold Wind

 A COLD WIND

A cold wind blows across the land.

We shiver at its command.

Summer is just a memory.

There is ice so far as we can see.

It freezes us where we stand.

Tired of It All

 TIRED OF IT ALL

We stand dazed and confused

            And feeling misused.

With all the lies we're fed

            We can't believe a word that's said,

And we're tired of being abused.

The American Way

 THE AMERICAN WAY

America, land of immigrants,

            Hates immigrants.

"Shut the door after me," we say.

            After me, they're all

                        Criminals and lowlifes.

That was what those

            Here before us

                        Said about us.

"No Irish Allowed," the signs used to say.

Paddys, Dagos, Wops, Kikes, Polacks, Hunkies,

            They called us.

Now the children of the Paddys, Dagos,

            Polacks and Hunkies

Don't want all those

            Spicks and Chinks and other lowlifes

                        Pouring into the country.

I suppose it's just

            The American Way of Life.

The Forever War

 THE FOREVER WAR

The war has been going on forever.

We don't remember when it began.

We don't remember how it began.

We don't remember who began it.

We don't remember who we're fighting.

                **********

We don't know why we're fighting.

We just know we have to keep fighting until the end.

We don't know when it will end.

We don't know how it will end.

We don't know if it will end.

               **********

It's been going on forever.

Trail of Tears

 TRAIL OF TEARS

We've been on this Trail of Tears

            For many long years.

We began on this Trail of Tears

            In ancient times

                        And foreign climes.

We lost many along the way.

            We have forgotten their names.

Now we lead the way

            On this Trail of Tears.

Tomorrow our children

            Will lead the way,

And their children after them

            Will lead the way

                        On this Trail of Tears.

And their children

            Will have forgotten our names.

Dark Spot

 DARK SPOT

The Great Red Spot of Jupiter,

An immortal storm,

Has lasted for millennia.

America was born with a similar storm.

It has darkened every generation.

It darkened my generation.

It darkens this generation.

It will darken future generations.

It is the American Great Dark Spot.

He Abhorred War

 HE ABHORRED WAR

Upon taking the throne

The Emperor let it be known

That he abhorred war.

But that was before

He turned Iran into a tombstone.

Dido, Queen of Carthage

 DIDO, QUEEN OF CARTHAGE

Trojan Aeneas raised the libido

Of the Queen of Carthage, named Dido.

But despite her pleas to stay home,

He said I must roam,

Rome needs me and I must go.

International Women's Day

 INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY

A day to honor women.

But every day should honor women.

Women keep the wheels turning

And the home fires burning.

Women bring in the sheaves

And knit up our raveled sleeves.

Women keep families together

In all kinds of weather.

Without women where would we be?

I guess we simply wouldn't be.

So let us honor women on this day,

And honor women every day.

A Long War

 A LONG WAR

Some say Iran declared war on us in '79

When they kicked out the Shah. But what of the crime

Of the CIA, who installed him in '53?

So far as I can see

It's been a war for a long, long time.

Nazi Barbie

 NAZI BARBIE

Nazi Barbie is no more.

Nazi Barbie had costumes galore,

And Nazi Barbie loved to preen.

Nazi Barbie lived like a queen,

Until he kicked her out the door.

Don't Call It War

 DON'T CALL IT WAR

Even though there's blood and gore,

The Emperor said it's not a war.

            **********

We knew they planned to hit us,

And throw us under the bus.

So we hit them first

And we hit them worst.

            **********

But, remember, don't make him sore,

Never, ever, call it war.

Next To Fall

 NEXT TO FALL

The Emperor is a classic bully.

His thinking may be wooly,

But one thing is fully clear:

He loves mean bullies far and near.

            **********

But only if they're big like him,

Putin, Zi, or Little Kim,

Who may be small but has the Bomb,

Which he waves with much aplomb.

            **********

But if you're only a pipsqueak,

He'll pluck you out quick as a wink,

Or he'll bomb you while you meet,

And crow about such a feat.

            **********

Like all bullies he will seek

Those he sees as small and weak.

So if you're small and don't stand tall,

You may be the next to fall.

Kiss His Derriere

 KISS HIS DERRIERE

The Emperor loves the power

To make the world cower.

It means he can kill you anywhere,

Unless you kiss his derriere

And praise him by the hour.

Democracy Is Expensive

 DEMOCRACY IS EXPENSIVE

"Education is expensive," the Emperor said.

            "Schools cost homeowners millions

                        In property taxes."

So the Emperor signed an Executive Order:

            No more schools.

                        It saved homeowners millions.

"Health insurance is expensive," the Emperor said.

            "Insurance premiums cost people millions."

So the Emperor signed an Executive Order:

            No more health insurance.

                        It saved people millions.

"Democracy is expensive," the Emperor said.

            "Elections cost taxpayers millions."

So the Emperor signed an Executive Order:

            No more elections.

                        It saved taxpayers millions.

Bored of Peace

 BORED OF PEACE

The Emperor created a Board of Peace,

But he grew bored of peace,

So he went to war again,

Just to make it plain,

War is his great release.