Oh, Those Nasty Critters!

Preparing the house for fumigation

Isn't fun at all.

But it's also distressful to know

That termites have paid a call.

 

At first there is no evidence.

"Life is grand," you say.

Then you discover that throughout your house

Termites are chomping away.

 

"Eek!" you scream. "Those NASTY critters!

How dare they incommode

This household! Look at how they are

Destroying our humble abode!"

How dreadful that in our sanctuaries

These blasted creatures lurk!

Removing or double-bagging food

Is a lot of work.

Not only food, it's cough drops, meds--

Whatever can be ingested.

That must be taken care of when

Your domicile is infested.

 

If you lived in an igloo, then

You would NOT be dealt

A termite problem, but global warming

Would make your igloo melt.

 

Also, where would you put your router?

Each electronic device

Might not be compatible

Surrounded by all that ice.

 

What about a house of glass?

Maybe that would be good.

A house of steel? A house of stones?

Anything but wood!

 

If all the termites living on Earth--

Parents, daughters, and sons--

Were put on a scale, they'd weigh four hundred

Forty-five MILLION tons!

 

Humans would weigh 350

Million tons if we

Were all put on a scale together.

That would be fun to see!

 

So, you can see that we're outnumbered.

The termites are in command.

Will we win, or will those little

Bugs get the upper hand?

 

If we fail to act right now,

The damage will keep getting worse.

Maybe termites are helpful in nature;

For us they are a curse.

 

Preparing the house for fumigation:

What a pain in the rear!

I can't wait till it's over and we

Can hear the words "ALL CLEAR!"

 

-by Bob B (4-14-24)

Going in Reverse

It's such a disruption to my peace of mind

To witness the plunge of our great humankind.

Amazing potential is what we possess,

But darn it if we are not making a mess!

 

The human attention span's clearly decreasing,

And humankind's selfish demands are unceasing.

Conspiracy theories are way out of whack,

And good education is under attack.

 

Our probing, inquiring, sharp journalism

Is no longer trusted and faces a schism.

Reason is too often stopped in its tracks,

For too many people are falling for quacks.

 

And what about people who don't have a clue

Of being accountable for what they do?

They WILL not admit that they're wrong, and they claim

That other folks ought to be taking the blame.

 

So many people don't listen to reason--

That their form of patriotism is treason,

That storming the Capitol is a real crime

And that those who do it might have to serve time.

 

It also amazes me how an adult

Can fall for a weird personality cult.

Are people so desperate that they'll believe

The lies that their precious cult leader will weave?

 

A lot of folks don't trust the experts who say,

"Tomorrow depends on our actions today."

Such folks don't mind if we keep burning coal;

Renewable energy isn't their goal.

 

And then there are those who will NOT bid good-bye

To Trump's undeniably wacky Big Lie.

It really astounds me how some folks can't see

How dangerous their careless actions can be.

 

They'll trust information that's propagandistic,

And many of them have become nativistic.

Critical thinking has gone down the drain.

Is half of the country now going insane?

 

What--I'll keep asking--will be the solution

For stopping what seems like reverse evolution?

The thought has me feeling a bit ill at ease

That once again we might be swinging from trees.

-by Bob B (4-12-24)

Back to 1864

The highest court in Arizona,

Stuck in 1864,

Just dug up an abortion ruling

Written during the Civil War.

 

Amazingly, the seven judges

Must have found a time machine,

And no, this is not a film

We're watching on the giant screen.

 

The law banning nearly all

Abortions was a barricade

To women's right to choose until

It was blocked by Roe v. Wade.

 

Reflecting the times, the law exposes

Feelings that were deeply rooted.

Physicians who assisted women

Could easily be prosecuted.

 

Hmmm. I wonder where the court's

Time machine will take them next.

Will they soon unearth another

Old, antiquated text?

 

Republicans who might agree

With what the court is doing, now

Are scaling back their rhetoric

In hopes that they'll squeak through somehow.

 

All who champion women's rights

Should honestly be mortified.

Choosing to favor the court's decision

Should be political suicide.

 

Fortunately, a lot of folks

Who've heard the news are having fits.

Take out your sledgehammers

And smash that time machine to bits!

-by Bob B (4-11-24)

Shame on Them!

Shame on the Republicans--

Those who want to abandon Ukraine.

Shame on those who cater to

A Russian leader who's inhumane.

 

Shame on them for being swayed

By Putin's propaganda, for he

Has shown contempt for anyone

Who threatens his authority.

 

Shame on them for holding up

The passing of bills to offer assistance

To the Ukrainian cause as the people

Fight to defend their very existence.

 

Instead of siding with Putin, those

Republicans should open their eyes

And see how dangerous it is

For them to fall for all of his lies.

 

Instead of sitting on their hands,

They should see where inaction leads.

They will help secure the West

By giving Ukraine the help it needs.

 

With the assistance of NATO, Ukraine

Has vowed to fight to the bitter end.

Republicans in Congress should know

That Vladimir Putin is NOT our friend.

-by Bob B (4-10-24)

Lie, Deny, Delay

Lie, deny, delay. These are

Three methods that Trump employs

To con his way through life. And, yes,

He's good at making lots of noise.

 

What comes easy for him, of course,

Without a doubt is all the lying.

He is also very adept

At method number two: denying.

 

Delaying is a bit of a challenge.

To accomplish that, his team resorts

To throwing spaghetti at the wall

To see what sticks in cases in courts.

 

How ironic: he claims to be

The candidate of law and order

But makes up lies about what is

Occurring on our southern border.

 

Law and order? What a joke!

The first thing that he'll do, says he,

If he's back in the White House to serve

One more term in office will be

 

To pardon the thugs who've been convicted

Of crimes involving their connection

With the January 6

Shocking Capitol insurrection.

 

What a cruel, insensitive,

Vicious, heartless slap in the face

To law enforcement officers

Who were attacked while guarding the place!

 

If Trump agrees that democracy

And Law and Order are major concerns,

Why then are the ones who protect

Democracy the ones he spurns?

 

Will Donald Trump once again

Lie and deny his way to the top?

Or will his cold, uncaring campaign

Turn out to be a giant flop?

-by Bob B (4-8-24)

The Chosen One: A Monologue

DT sings to himself in the mirror:

 

I LOVE how folks bow down to me

And say my work's a job well done.

That's because so many can see

That Donald Trump is the Chosen One.

 

I alone can fix this land.

My work here has just barely begun.

When I have the upper hand,

I'll prove I am the Chosen One.

 

You'll get away with everything.

Stringing people along is fun.

And you can act as though you're king,

Or better than that: the Chosen One.

 

The Bible I have never read,

But bucks will flow in by the ton

When I sell it, for it's said

That I am really the Chosen One.

 

Christ and I are much alike--

Each a victim; each a son.

Opponents all can take a hike.

Best beware of the Chosen One.

 

I'm invincible 'cause I'm smart.

Are there folks who are brighter? None!

But still some want to tear me apart.

Look what they're doing to the Chosen One.

 

If I do not win this fall,

The election, I'll say, was badly run.

How could anyone have the gall

Not to vote for the Chosen One?

 

All the folks who criticize

What I do are those we'll shun.

I'll make it my enterprise

To market myself as the Chosen One.

 

With the Trump card, we will win.

Look at me: I made a pun!

I'm flawless, for I never sin--

Not when I'm the Chosen One.

 

Oh, my goodness, I'm so proud

Of all the tales that I have spun.

I know how to work a crowd,

Pretending I'm the Chosen One.

 

Me be scrupulous? No way!

You'll get farther if you're un-.

I don't care what critics say

Because I am the Chosen One!

-by Bob B (4-6-24)