A Poem

 A POEM

"A poem should not mean

But be,"

Said Archibald MacLeish.

            **********

I happen to disagree.

So far as I can see

A poem should more

Than simply be.

            **********

A poem should be beautiful,

Or perhaps thoughtful.

A poem should help us fight,

Or offer some rare insight.

A poem could even give us pleasure

Beyond measure.

            **********

With joy a poem should leap,

With grief a poem should weep.

With anger a poem should cry,

With love a poem should fly.

            **********

But most of all,

If I would recall

A poem in later times

Or other climes,

A poem must more than simply be.

A poem must mean -- to me.

The Billionaire

 THE BILLIONAIRE

Do not trust the billionaire,

            Any time, anywhere.

                        He is not your friend.

He is loyal to his billionaire class.

            To him, you're just an ass

                        To be bridled and ridden.

You're just the ignorant sheeple

            To be fleeced

                        As he tells you to

            "Look at that squirrel!"

The billionaire is a snake oil sharpster

            Selling you potent lies

                        About your fellow worker

            Who happens to be black or brown,

                        Who happens to be female,

            Or who speaks a foreign lingo,

But who, like you,

            Is just trying to survive and thrive.

That's a problem the billionaire never has.

He is never hungry,

            He never shivers in the cold.

                        He does not worry

                                    About growing old.

His only problem

            Is making you believe

                        He is your friend.

Memento Mori

 MEMENTO MORI

Each tarnished trophy once told a story

            Of proud and joyous glory.

Once, adoring crowds cheered

            The young champion

                        As he held his gleaming trophy

            High against the sky.

So, too, did shouting throngs

            Acclaim their victorious generals

As they rode in bold triumph

            Through the old streets of Rome.

But that ancient glory wasn't meant to last.

            Behind those Roman generals

                        In their golden chariots

                                    Stood a slave

Holding the laurel wreath of victory

            High over the victor's head,

                        While whispering in his ear,

            "This, too, shall pass."

So now, each tarnished trophy

            Lies mixed with the rest

                        In a box of forgotten glory,

                                    Rusting in the rain.

Stand Up In Your Truth

 STAND UP IN YOUR TRUTH

When all you hear

            Is a symphony of sycophancy,

Do not surrender to your fear.

            Stand up in your truth.

                        **********

Lift up your voice, don't hesitate,

            Though you think you stand alone.

Do it now, defy your fate.

            Stand up in your truth.

                        **********

Do not cower before the power,

            Tell the truth and shame the Devil.

Seize the day, seize the hour.

            Stand up in your truth.

                        **********

Stand out and stand tall,

            Your courage is contagious

When they hear your clarion call.

            Stand up in your truth.

                        **********

Do it now, defy your fate.

            Seize the day, seize the hour.

                        Stand up in your truth.

Rise Up, America

 RISE UP, AMERICA

When tyranny spreads across the land

            And submission is the word,

All we people must unite and stand

            And let our voices be heard.

                        **********

Every citizen must be a dissident

            To set our country free,

And dissent must be permanent

            To save democracy.

                        **********

So, rise up D.C., reclaim your liberty.

            Rise up, Chicago, Boston, be strong,

Rise up New York, resist the tyranny,

            Rise up, America, sing a rebel song.

                        **********

Yes, rise up, America, and sing a rebel song.

            Rise up, America, fight to be free.

Rise up, America, and sing a rebel song,

            Rise up now, from sea to shining sea.

                        **********

Our leaders have betrayed us,

            There's no sitting on the fence,

No one else will come to save us,

            We are the last and best defense.

                        **********

So, rise up, America, and sing a rebel song.

            Rise up, America, fight to be free.

Rise up, America, and sing a rebel song,

            Rise up now, from sea to shining sea.

That Aquarian Age

 THAT AQUARIAN AGE

It was the dawning of the Age of Aquarius

            And the times they were a-changing.

There were thousands of people

                Out in the street,

            Chanting "Power to the people,"

                        And "People got to be free."

                        **********

But that was another time, long, long ago,

            Before SCOTUS ruled

                        That corporations

                                    Are people,

            And those people got the power.

                        **********

So the times, they changed,

            But not the way we thought.

The days are darker now,

            And those battles we fought,

                        Those battles we won?

            They were battles we lost.

The rich got richer,

            And the poor stayed poor.

The strong got stronger,

            And the weak stayed weak.

                        **********

But we're fighting still, on the very last hill,

            Hoping to live and finally see

                        The true dawning of

            That Aquarian Age,

                        And the people, the people,

                                    All dancing free.

Labor Day

LABOR DAY

In olden days, so the story goes,

            Though no one really knows,

Workers were honored and labor was strong.

            If so, it didn't last long.

                                    **********

They say that unions had so many powers

            They won higher pay, shorter hours,

Vacations, health care, and job security,

            And none of this was charity.

                        **********

But that was long ago, and far away.

            It happened in some ancient day.

It is a tale told by gray-haired men,

            And then, only amongst their kin.

                        **********

So we have this remnant from some mythic past,

            A ragged relic fading fast,

An antique souvenir of former glory,

            An echo of a forgotten story.