Gut Feeling

The president loves to carry on

About his gut and how it guides him.

How can anybody believe

A word of all of his nonsense besides him?

His gut encourages him to lie

And do it while he keeps a straight face.

It helps him create far-fetched stories

To dupe and galvanize his base.

His gut is great at seeking out

The shiftiest autocrats around,

So he can make America

His autocratic proving ground.

It's also very good at distracting

The country from what is REALLY going on--

At how to attract his servile lackeys

While he plays the role of the don.

It helps him to be great at knowing

How to pander to various groups

Such as evangelicals

Who kiss his you-know-what. Oops!

His gut tells him that scientists

Are full of baloney when they proclaim

That global warming is a threat

And humankind is largely to blame.

His gut says illegal voting

Is rampant. Doesn't he find it odd

That experts have found no proof at all

Of widespread voter fraud?

His gut says he hires the best people.

That makes him SO excited.

But how many have left their jobs?

How many have been indicted?

His gut said that he could pay money

To silence affairs and get away with it.

Did his gut let him know

Whether his wife would be okay with it?

His gut tells him that as the leader

He can do what he desires,

Which must include collusion, obstruction

Of justice, and calling dissenters liars.

Yes, I agree: gut feeling

Can be useful at times, BUT

Why can't the president

Start using reason and NOT his gut?

-by Bob B (11-30-18)

When I Write a Poem

When I write a poem,

I find that all at once

A world of wonderment envelops me.

Life takes on new forms,

New thoughts come alive,

And tints of magic color all I see.

When I write a poem,

Longing grips my heart--

A longing to express what's deep inside.

The more I wander through

The wondrous realm of words,

Life becomes much more intensified.

Sometimes bright and hopeful,

Sometimes dark or gray,

Words say what my heart

Wants me to convey.

When I write a poem,

A passion, hope, or dream

Compels me to move forward word by word.

Once my poem's finished,

What else is there to say?

At least I've tried to let my voice be heard.

-by Bob B (11-29-18)

A Sad Deal Maker

Racism in politics:

Shouldn't it be a deal breaker?

But in some places it

Appears to be a deal maker.

A candidate who jokes about

Public hangings and embraces

Voter suppression candidly

Can win elections in certain places.

She can wear a confederate cap

And pose with a rifle. Would she brag

About her segregation academy

Photo with a confederate flag?

Racism is a monster with

Tentacles reaching far and wide.

Many grasped by its hateful clutches

Often deny it, but how they've lied!

I used to think that humans had

Progressed, and my naïveté

Made it hard to accept that it

Existed in the world today.

But, oh, it is alive and well--

Sometimes blatant, sometimes systemic.

It must be countered by understanding,

Empathy, and fierce polemic.

-by Bob B (11-28-18)

Why Are You Crying?

"Why are you crying, mother of two?

Tears stain your fearful face."

"The country where I was born and raised

Is now a frightening, deadly place."

"Why are you crying, mother of two?

Tell me why your tears don't cease."

"The journey north is hard, yet we

Yearn to live in a land of peace."

"Why are you crying, mother of two?

Have you lost faith in your caravan?"

"The president says that we are a threat;

He says that we're the bogeyman."

"Why are you crying, mother of two?

Because you’re hungry and have no shoes?"

"We've come seeking asylum, yet we

Are now hearing discouraging news."

"Why are you crying, mother of two?

What is it that gives you pause?"

"We would like to be heard, but now

The president is changing the laws."

"Why are you crying, mother of two?

Do you fear the guard, or sentry?"

"They won't let us plead our case;

They're even blocking the ports of entry."

"Why are you crying, mother of two?

Why the chaos? Why the disorder?"

"Authorities see our desperation;

They've shot tear gas over the border."

"Why are you crying, mother of two?

You are running and out of breath."

"My future may be uncertain here,

But one thing I know: home means death."

-by Bob B (11-27-18)

A World in Crisis

A year ago at the North Pole

Santa STILL had a sign

That read "For Sale," posted on

His slushy, sludgy property line.

We stopped by to pay a visit

And found Santa out of sorts.

He asked if we perchance had read

Recent global warming reports.

"Things are looking worse than ever,"

He said, on the verge of crying.

"The ice caps continue to melt,

And the world's coral reefs are dying.

"We'll be seeing flooding coastlines,

Food shortages, wildfires….

And some even have the nerve

To call the prognosticators liars!

"People ask if it's too late.

I tell them that it depends

We can stop the warming, BUT

We MUST reverse emissions trends.

"If the earth's temperature rises

Two point seven degrees, they write,

Above pre-industrial levels--

That's degrees in Fahrenheit--

"We'll face dire consequences:

Mass extinctions of animals and plants,

Wobbly countries, refugees….

These are NOT just foolish rants!

"The world economy must be transformed.

Come on! You have to use your head!

Renewable sources of energy

Are vital; otherwise, we're dead."

How sad it was to see a man

Who once had been so cheerful and jolly

Now become so sad and so

Demoralized by human folly!

He showed us his dilapidated

House, and then with a sigh,

He said, "I've got work to do,"

At which point we all said good-bye.

-by Bob B (11-24-18)

Giving Thanks?

A couple with eyes swollen from grief

Sits at the Thanksgiving table,

Wanting to let the sadness depart,

But at the moment they aren't able.

You see, the husband and wife just lost

Their son in a shooting two weeks prior.

An angry gunman entered a club,

Took out his gun, and opened fire.

The topic of being thankful arises.

The couple wonders, should they be

Thankful that their country permits

Shootings to happen to such a degree?

Should they also be thankful that

So many lawmakers have been unwilling

To tackle a problem that's out of control--

To stop or curtail the senseless killing?

Likewise, should they be thankful that

Hypocrisy and greed exist?

They--along with callousness--

Allow such nightmares to persist.

That far too many members of Congress

And the highest court in all the land

Are out of step with most of the people,

Whose wishes they fail to understand:

Should the couple be thankful for that?

Will anything change when they're less distraught?

Deciding what to be thankful for

At the moment would take a lot of thought.

No, it's better not to ask them

While their hearts are rent from sorrow.

What they need right now is hope

That there could be a brighter tomorrow.

-by Bob B (11-23-18)

Remembering Those in Need

As you sit at your table on Thanksgiving Day

Voraciously gorging yourself on your feast,

Remember those who are suffering

In a proxy war in the Middle East.

The poor Yemenis have died by the thousands.

Many are on the brink of starvation.

Fourteen million, some people say,

Experience serious deprivation.

Blockades limit badly needed

Medical supplies and food.

It's a humanitarian crisis

Of unspeakable magnitude.

Warring ideologies place

Innocent people in between.

Yes, people are still committing

Atrocities in twenty eighteen!

A hospital hit by Saudi bombs…

A school bus blown to bits…

How many more will die before

Responsible parties call it quits?

Cholera is pervasive, and drugs

Cannot get to the people who need them.

Babies are dying because their mothers

Cannot produce the milk to feed them.

As of now our president

Would rather keep an open door

To weapons sales to Saudis instead

Of trying to stop the ghastly war.

Don't just send your thoughts to Yemen;

Let your thoughts turn into actions,

Lest your sincere hopes for peace

End up being worthless abstractions.

-by Bob B (11-22-18)

What Would the President Do?

Let's say a foreign government

Butcher's a U.S. resident

In Istanbul, Turkey, while

You're the U.S. president.

What's more important to you

Is making more money down the line

By maintaining business ties

That NOT even murder can undermine.

If greed is your primary motive,

You'll justify your point of view

By asking yourself the following question:

What would the current president do?

Let's say certain autocrats

Make dissenters disappear.

You're entranced by how the despots

Maintain their power that you hold dear.

If power is your primary motive,

You'll justify your point of view

By asking yourself the following question:

What would the current president do?

If people desperate for asylum

Come to your border seeking relief,

And you want to show the heartlessness

Of a xenophobic commander in chief,

Then show them that your heartlessness

Can justify your point of view

By asking yourself the following question:

What would the current president do?

If you want to stop an investigation

That possibly looks bad for you,

You can obstruct justice by asking,

What would the current president do?

If you think your unscrupulousness

Allows you to break every taboo,

You've learned a lot from asking yourself,

What would the current president do?

-by Bob B (11-21-18)

Oh, You Hypocrites!

One thing we know about Trump is that

Whenever he criticizes someone,

It's often for something that he himself

Does or previously has done.

When he campaigned, he criticized

Obama for golfing. Such a crime!

Now that he's the president,

Trump is golfing all the time!

He blasted Obama for lack of transparency

And accused him of being feckless.

Trump's own transparency comes

To light only because he's so reckless.

Trump says the media should

Be less hostile and model civility.

Then he attacks the press and others

And carries it out with utmost hostility.

Our national security:

An issue to Trump, yet now it's known

How much the hypocritical man

Loves to use his unsecured phone.

Hillary's emails were often a target

Before and even since the election.

Trump's fake concern and his constant

Complaints: examples of his projection.

Emails are now in the news again.

This time daughter Ivanka is using

Her private email account for government

Business! Isn't that amusing?

Oh, you hypocrites! You act as though

For you the rules do not apply.

But if there's any justice at all,

You'll get yours by and by.

-by Bob B (11-20-18)

Musings of a President

"Agitated! People say

I'm 'agitated.' I'm NOT, damn it!

Why would I be agitated?

I say all of them can cram it!

"I missed a ceremony to honor

Fallen soldiers in France. Dare

I say it was a rainy day,

And rain wreaks havoc on my hair?

"Reports that Democrats have won

Tons of elections are beginning

To get on my nerves. It's fake news.

Republicans are really winning.

"They say I'm rude to reporters when

They ask difficult questions. So?

They should only ask about

Things that I want them to know.

"They also laugh when I say

More 'decorum' is what we need.

I wrote the book on propriety.

If only people would follow my lead.

"I couldn't wait to fire Sessions.

That man didn't have my back.

I have a new guy, Whitiker;

He'll be picking up the slack.

"It makes me furious when people say

I am paranoid and deluded.

They're afraid of all my power.

THAT is what I have concluded.

"Now I'm going to California

To show them what it really takes

To stop all these nasty fires:

All they need is a bunch of rakes."

-by Bob B (11-17-18)

Feelin' BLUE

A wave of BLUE has washed across

America. It has succeeded

In offering refreshing hope--

Something that is badly needed.

RED--suspicious--oftentimes

Regards BLUE with flaming derision.

Skeptical, it challenges

BLUE's unifying vision.

BLUE hopes to wash away

Signs of growing division and hate--

To put an end to skilled disruption

And odious chaos before it's too late.

Although people strive to try

To resist the wave, in due course,

The wave of BLUE can bring about

Positive change as it gathers force.

Perhaps the wave can also erode

Stubborn threats to freedom and rights

And dampen the unimaginable

Before the powder keg ignites.

Perhaps the wave will drown the practice

Of unfair treatment, voter suppression,

Verbal attacks, lies and deceit,

And unnecessary aggression.

The BLUE wave could very well

Tone down RED's fiery hue.

Now I feel more optimistic.

What's more, I love the color BLUE.

-by Bob B (11-15-18)

Welcome, All!*

For what would be a change of pace,

Check out this unusual place:

Persecuted groups came to create

A place where they could discriminate.

1840s gold rush dreams

Preceded years of get-rich schemes.

Nutty religious cults explore

End-time prophecies galore.

Believe whatever if that's your conviction,

Even if your "facts" are fiction.

You can construct your own reality;

"Whatever goes" is gaining vitality.

Anti-intellectualism

Accompanies attacks on secularism.

Fewer people think it's not odd

For leaders to wait for messages from God.

Satan's causing natural disasters,

For he's out to get us, according to some pastors.

Hustlers hustle the hustled, you see:

Religious theatricality.

Snake oil is sold for a quick fix;

Someone always has a bag of tricks.

Charismatic visionaries

Hope their income never varies.

Though P.T. Barnum is gone, we can say

That humbuggery is here to stay.

Homeopathic cures are widespread.

Devious mediums talk to the dead.

Scare tactics of foreign "invasions"

Keep popping up on numerous occasions.

Some have rewritten the history of the South.

Fake news spread by cyber "word of mouth."

Commingling entertainment and news--

Called "infotainment"--can spread one's views.

Acting out your fantasy makes you feel

That fantasy--NOT reality--is real.

People are duped by made-up scares.

The National Enquirer peddles its wares.

Cosmetic surgery transforms features.

People are abducted by strange space creatures.

The fantasy industry proliferates:

Fox News infects all fifty states.

Prosperity-gospel preachers are abounding,

Hoping their spiritual interest is compounding.

The war on the devil is not metaphorical,

For scripture, some say, can't be allegorical.

There are always the paranoid ones

Who fear the confiscation of guns.

Groups attempt to change the rules

So creationism can be taught in the schools.

Anti-establishment's becoming the norm;

Mistrust of experts is taking greater form.

Lies don't matter as long as you

FEEL that what someone says is true.

Some fear "invaders" crossing the border;

Others fear a scary New World Order.

Distrust places the media on trial

And fosters climate change denial.

Some say vaccines do great harm

And GMO foods are cause for alarm.

They say gun laws will only provide

Guns to "bad guys" with something to hide;

That regulations on any level

Of finances are the work of the devil.

A con-man leader will always keep spinning

The fantasy that with him we'll be winning.

That fake news is harmful and only distracts

People entitled to making up facts.

Voter fraud's still the talk of the Right;

Conspiracy theories keep coming to light.

Con artists boldly state:

Conversion therapy makes you straight.

If an alternate universe is in demand,

Then WELCOME, ALL, TO FANTASYLAND!

-by Bob B (11-12-18)

*Inspired by Kurt Andersen's Fantasyland: How America

Went Haywire

Stifled Pleas

"Never again." We have said

“Never again!” too many times.

The hours advance, leaving us

With doleful reminders when the clock chimes.

“Never again” echoes through

The deep canyons of empty hearts

As irretrievable hopes remain

Buried by anguish that never departs.

"Never again" emerged through pain--

Through unspeakable affliction,

Horrified by the shamelessness

Of facts being smothered by fiction.

"Never again" for a moment

Rose from yearnings, deep and profound

Until woeful indifference

Muffled the once inspirited sound.

"Never again" filled a chasm

Of bleak despair with promising goals,

Without which we're on the cliffs of uncertainty,

Constantly asking for whom the bell tolls.

-by Bob B (11-11-18)

Riding the Wave

A BLUE WAVE swept across

America in 2018--

A definite reaction to

The Trump propaganda machine.

The wave, if not a tsunami, still

Brought about significant gains

For hopeful Democrats in the House

Who had to counter nasty campaigns.

Okay, yes, it works both ways,

But Democrats mainly stayed on topic,

Stressing the issue of health care, about

Which Republicans' views are myopic.

Trump and his favorites focused on

A "caravan," creating tension

And unwarranted fear in supporters.

Now it's a topic they barely mention.

The Democrats did exceedingly well

Despite all the voter suppression.

Of course, the Right yells, "Voter fraud!"--

Which has become another obsession.

Now the work really begins.

Will Trump model greater civility?

At least there will be checks and balances

And hopefully accountability.

In the meantime, we will wait

And see how politicians behave

And hope that more people will see

The benefits of riding the wave.

-by Bob B (11-10-18)

13 KILLED IN THOUSAND OAKS

We'd like to think that we could go

Out for an evening and not have to worry

That we are going to end up being

The helpless victim of a gunman's fury.

One would think that mass shootings

In which so many lives are lost

Might compel lawmakers

To stop the killings at any cost.

When so many shootings occur

On American soil year after year,

Don't enough people wonder

What the hell is happening here?

What are people waiting for?

How many more victims will die?

Must we sit by helplessly

While lawmakers turn a blind eye?

Another horrific act of violence

Occurred at the Borderline Bar & Grill

When a solitary gunman

Had one thing on his mind: to kill.

Eleven young people gunned down.

An officer shot dead as well.

Only survivors who were present

Can talk about their glimpse of hell.

The killer, too, lost his life

From a wound, possibly self-inflicted.

Some say in retrospect
His actions could have been predicted.

No one can fathom the suffering

Of the victims' parents, families and friends--

Their heartache and anguish from knowing that

Their loved ones met such violent ends.

Just two weeks before Thanksgiving!

This year it will be a chore

To ask the parents staring at empty

Seats what they are thankful for.

A call to action is the only response

To the horror that this nightmare evokes

When twelve innocent victims must

Lose their lives in Thousand Oaks.

Remember the victims:

Sgt. Ron Helus (54)

Sean Adler (48)

Cody Coffman (22)

Blake Dingman (21)

Jake Dunham (21)

Alaina Housley (18)

Daniel Manrique (33)

Justin Meek (23)

Mark Meza (20)

Kristina Morisette (20)

Telemachus Orfanos (27)

Noel Sparks (21)

A mother of one of the victims has said,

"Here are my words. I want gun control.

I don't want prayers. I don't want thoughts."

-by Bob B  (11-9-18)

The Firing

A day after the midterms, Trump

Showed that he was true to form,

Once again reminding us that

Effrontery is becoming the norm.

In a brazen act of utter defiance,

Trump fired Jeff Sessions,

The attorney general, which adds one more

Deed to the list of Trump's transgressions.

Ignoring the normal line of succession,

Trump installed as acting chief

A loyalist, since loyalty is

The current admin's leitmotif.

Matt Whitiker is the man--

Known as the West Wing's "eyes and ears."

Another case of obstruction of justice?

At least that's how the move appears.

Whitiker has a paper trail

A mile long, criticizing

The Mueller probe, so Trump wants him

In charge of the case. How NOT surprising!

The DOJ is supposed to be

Fair and impartial. Not anymore.

If Whitiker doesn't recuse himself,

We all know what's in store.

It's frightening how the DOJ

Is tied to the president's apron strings.

Innocent people have nothing to fear;

Desperate people do desperate things.

-by Bob B (11-8-18)

"Monkey Trial"

Oh, the sensation, the media frenzy,

The spotlight, the fame, the hullabaloo,

When anti-evolution laws

Were challenged by the ACLU!

The year: 1925.

The place: Dayton, Tennessee.

To say it was an extravaganza

Wouldn't be hyperbole.

For many people it was hard

To find a way to reconcile

Biblical accounts with science,

So science found itself on trial.

A young teacher, John T. Scopes,

Was willing to face prosecution

For breaking a Tennessee law for having

Given a lesson on evolution.

The "Monkey Trial" it was called.

The challenge meant swimming upstream

For the feisty lawyer Clarence Darrow,

Who helped to lead the defense team.

A prosecutor was William Jennings

Bryan, who with no apology

Loved to stir up outrage against

Evolutionary biology.

Defendant Scopes quickly found

It wouldn't take long for him to know

What it was like to have a part

In a multimedia reality show.

The courthouse received a make-over:

Platforms for newsreel cameras were built;

Extra spectator seats were added.

They were playing the trial to the hilt.

Concession stands sold food and drinks;

Toy monkeys were on display;

A chimp was dressed in a suit and fedora;

The clergy also joined the fray.

The media and the public loved it!

The country watched the trial progress.

What would win: science or scripture?

The answer was probably easy to guess.

After an eight-day trial, the jury

Deliberated. Nine minutes later

They had their verdict: guilty! How

Could someone question THEIR creator?

Scopes had actually never given

The lesson. That's what he later said.

Strangely, five days after the trial,

Williams Jennings Bryan dropped dead.

Laws later changed, but even during

Current times, some people feel

That stories from the Bible should be

In science textbooks. Now THAT'S surreal!

-by Bob B (11-6-18)

Scones

Life's not always cut and dried.

Opinions differ; there are unknowns.

But one thing you have to admit is that

There's nothing like a morning with scones!

A cool November morning with

A buttermilk scone, right from the oven--

Covered with butter and dripping with honey.

Tell me that's not something worth lovin'.

I don't want to stop at two;

I could eat six or seven!

Well, maybe not seven, but at

The moment I'm in seventh heaven.

-by Bob B (11-1-18)