A Message...

To the person who loves Donald Trump's

Dictatorial power grab--

As he so shamelessly continues

To pick at wounded democracy's scab--

 

Who loves how Trump and his admin team

Gaslight the public with constant lies

To make people question what

They're seeing with their very own eyes;

 

Who does not mind the blatant corruption

That permeates the White House now

As Trump pressures collaborators

To bow down to him--their sacred cow;

 

Who does not care that Trump and his team

Practice the art of circumlocution,

And that he demands loyalty

To himself and NOT to the constitution;

 

Who couldn't care less if there is suffering

Because of the way that people are treated,

Or who believes that elections are rigged

Whenever Republicans are defeated;

 

Who thinks it's okay when people are killed

And their due process has been neglected,

While people who praise Trump commit

Major crimes, yet they are protected;

 

Who believes that weaponizing

The DOJ is quite all right,

So Trump can investigate his opponents

To sate his vengeful appetite;

 

Who doesn't agree that it is wrong

To take over other countries by force,

And that it's okay for a president

To be disloyal, demeaning, and coarse;

 

Who's fine with Trump's unlawful acts

And whatever he might say or do--

To this person, I'll merely say:

Shame, shame, shame on you.

-by Bob B (1-17-26)

The Pedophile Protector

Trump is a pedophile protector.

However, if you call him out,

You will get the middle finger,

For THAT'S what he is all about.

 

He’s been giving all of us

The middle finger every day--

Figuratively, of course, but that

Is what his words and actions convey.

 

Hateful, vengeful, insecure,

He's showing signs of becoming demented.

And to lie the way he does!

That has to be unprecedented.

 

Invade more cities, Mr. Trump.

Let your thugs incite unrest.

Make more threats to take over countries

With which you are so bizarrely obsessed.

 

Continue to say our economy

Is doing well. Use your wiles.

Despite the distractions, we will not

Forget about the Epstein files.

-by Bob B (1-16-26)

A Death in Minnesota

(This poem can be sung to the melody of Neil Young’s 1970 song “Ohio.”)

 

A death in Minnesota.

Our country's feeling pain.

ICE has to meet its quota.

This has become insane.

 

Why are they doing this?

What are they trying to prove?

That they can push us all around?

It seems that they want

To always be on the move

To make each state a battleground.

 

They say they're trying

To make us safe. Oh, yes?

Safe from what is what one asks.

We all know whom

They are out to impress

With their guns and with their masks.

 

A death in Minnesota.

Our country's feeling pain.

ICE has to meet its quota.

This has become insane.

 

Have they no conscience?

Are they just heartless thugs

Sending a message that repeats?

Are they expecting

To get kisses and hugs

As they murder us on our streets?

 

A death in Minnesota.

Our country's feeling pain.

ICE has to meet its quota.

This has become insane.

-by Bob B (1-8-26)

Unnecessarily Shot

A woman, Renee Nicole Good,

Thirty-seven years of age,

Was shot in the head by an ICE agent--

Another death that's causing rage.

 

At the scene of an ICE invasion,

Good--a mother, a writer, a wife--

Was accused of threatening

An agent when he took her life.

 

Videos show that that wasn't true.

ICE agents are good at lying.

They, of course, are backed by an uncouth

President whose support is undying.

 

Whatever spin the Trump admin

Puts on what happened, it is clear

That ICE death squads are really provoking

Americans and stirring up fear.

 

Armed and masked, the agents swarm

And terrorize a community.

Poorly trained and incompetent,

They operate with impunity.

 

It's dangerous when you put real guns

Into the hands of bungling clowns.

Here's a message to ICE agents:

STAY OUT OF OUR CITIES AND TOWNS!

 

For the crime that the agent committed,

Most likely, he won't have to pay.

If not, I hope the victim's death

Haunts him to his dying day.

-by Bob B (1-8-26)

Five Years Ago

Five years ago this week

Trump incited a deadly riot.

Many who condemned him then--

What a surprise!--now are quiet.

 

In fact, they're siding with White House lies,

For Trump's administration claims

That the January 6

Rioters had praiseworthy aims--

 

That they were simply "protesters,"

"Peaceful and patriotic." Say what?

Trump's rewriting history,

And once again, he's off his nut.

 

What a slap in the face that is

To officers who were injured then--

Who were defending democracy.

THESE are praiseworthy women and men.

 

What is happening here is atrocious:

Trump is rapidly chipping away

At democratic freedoms that

We cherish in the U.S.A.

 

Worried, the autocrat in chief

Continues to raise baseless objections

About our voting system, for he

Doesn't trust our country's elections.

 

And now we are invading other

Countries! What have we become?

Russia? Watching the nonsense that

Is going on here leaves us numb.

 

The Trump administration is giving

Different reasons for the invasion:

Drugs. Oil. Regime change. It seems

That Trump will look for any occasion.

 

If we are talking regime change

In our western hemisphere,

The place where it is mostly needed

Is undeniably right here!

-by Bob B (1-7-26)

An Ongoing Debate

Ever since we have been able

To carry on a healthy debate,

Humans have disagreed about

Each individual's ultimate fate.

 

Will death be, as Socrates put it,

Ultimately, a dreamless sleep--

One from which we never awake,

But also one that's painless and deep?

 

Or will we be transported somewhere

To meet and chat with the greats from the past--

Philosophers, religious figures,

Artists, athletes? The list is vast.

 

Will we end up in paradise--

With glorious gardens, lush and green?

Or will we find ourselves in hell,

Or even somewhere in between?

 

Will we return in a different form

Of life and start all over again?

Maybe men come back as women,

Or women might return as men.

 

Many folks think that there should be justice--

Punishments or rewards for all.

Everlasting torment or bliss:

A supernatural being's call.

 

Some folks think the living can pray

And thus assist the souls of the dead.

Others feel that praying won't help--

That we have soulless bodies instead.

 

This debate will probably

Go on forever, I suppose.

Whatever anybody says,

The bottom line is no one knows.

-by Bob B (1-2-26)

2026: New Year's Wishes

My New Year's wish for '26--

Or wishes, I should say--

Could reflect the style of

A painting by Monet.

 

May dabs of color represent

The peace so badly needed,

So in all countries, ruling tyrants'

Efforts are impeded.

 

May blended colors of Congress suggest

Fluidity, not lines

Dividing us, and may the feeble

Republicans grow spines.

 

The brush strokes show--when seen up close--

A cornered president's wrath,

And how he's leading America

Down a dangerous path.

 

The images we see are often

Vague and in a haze.

May we be tenacious; if so,

We'll soon see better days.

 

The composition: watch Trump's admin

Team as they all grope

For power; nonetheless, we'll win

If we hang on to hope.

 

Impressionists are noted for

The feelings they elicit.

In causing grief, Donald Trump

And cohorts are complicit.

 

May their cruelty be clear

To all who watch their actions,

And may the swirls of color make clear

All of Trump's distractions.

 

Those are my wishes for '26;

May they come to fruition.

But I have limited powers, for I'm

A poet, not a magician.

-by Bob B (12-31-25)

The One(s) to Thank

Just when we thought we were safe, guess what:

We are under attack.

Conspiracy theorist RFK Jr.

Is bringing measles back.

 

The secretary of health, who has

A dubious reputation,

Is sadly filling people's minds

With lies and misinformation.

 

Because of him, people will die

And deadly diseases will spread.

People will ignore the experts

And listen to him instead.

 

The anti-vaccine zealot is making

Vaccines harder to get.

People who value health and safety

Ought to be upset.

 

Ignoring the facts, RFK Jr.

Basically does what he pleases.

It almost seems as though he is

Eager to bring back diseases.

 

Do senators who confirmed the man

Feel an ounce of chagrin?

The secretary--unfit for his job--

Needs to be reined in.

-by Bob B (12-27-25)