While the Earth Burns...

Credible scientists

Agree, and it is quite concerning.

We are seeing destructive effects

Of global warming: Earth is burning.

Brazilian agri-business has been

Carelessly throwing fuel on the fire,

Destroying the "lungs" of our planet and making

The situation even more dire.

The Amazon's on fire right now.

Fires are taking a heavy toll

In places all around the world.

The conflagration is out of control.

As heat-trapping gasses are

Released into the atmosphere,

Glaciers melt and oceans grow warmer,

Making hurricanes more severe.

Between climate change deniers

And a warming earth, we're in the middle,

And as Earth burns our president

Watches while he plays his fiddle.

Now he wants to roll back restrictions,

Erasing rules on methane emissions.

Methane as a heat-trapping gas

Will only worsen climate conditions.

With all his environmental rollbacks,

There is NO silver lining.

He wants to open Alaskan national

Forests to logging, drilling, and mining.

If there is a method to damage our

Environment, he will employ it.

Rather than fight to protect our earth,

The president would rather destroy it!

With all the damage Trump is doing,

If anyone says on his behalf

That he's an environmentalist,

All we can say is, "That's a laugh!"

-by Bob B (8-30-19)

A New Low

Many people wonder what

Trump can do to cause more woe.

Never ceasing to find a way,

The man has reached an all-time low.

He is still separating

Families that have been here for years--

Deporting parents and leaving their kids

To fend for themselves. Imagine their fears!

Crossing the line again, he's showing

How cruel and hateful his policies are,

For now the man is pushing one

That's more inhumane than others so far:

Non-citizens being treated

For life-threatening illnesses must

Leave the country in thirty-three days.

Trump thinks that's fair and just.

The Trump administration is saying,

"Sorry, but the time is nigh

For you to leave the United States."

In other words, "Go home and die!"

The White House Nazi Stephen Miller

Has to have his hand in this.

Whatever he can do to hurt

Immigrants gives him infinite bliss.

How sad it is when leaders are

Devoid of human compassion and heart!

Do we stand idly by and watch

The president tear the country apart?

-by Bob B (8-29-19)

Certainly the Man Has Flipped His Lid

(The poem can be sung to the melody of Gilbert and Sullivan's song "A Policeman's Lot Is Not a Happy One.")

When a president's completely off his rocker

--Off his rocker--

And has no sense of how to right his wrongs,

--Right his wrongs--

The fact that people like him is a shocker,

--Is a shocker--

For they should know he's not where he belongs

--He belongs.

A leader should be honest and insightful

--'Nest insightful--

And not behave as though he is a kid.

--Is a kid--

But when he is delusional and spiteful--

--'Nal and spiteful--

We know that he's completely flipped his lid--

--Flipped his lid.

When a president behaves worse than a kid,

--Than a kid--

We know that he's completely flipped his lid

--Flipped his lid.

When a leader feels that global warming's silly--

--Warming's silly--

And even wants to nuke a hurricane,

--Hurricane--

And everything he does is willy-nilly,

--Willy-nilly--

One questions what's going on inside his brain

--'Nside his brain.

When everything he says is senseless chatter--

--Senseless chatter--

And his super ego's vanquished by his id--

--By his id--

People wonder what the hell's the matter,

--Hell's the matter--

For certainly the man has flipped his lid

--Flipped his lid.

When a president behaves worse than a kid

--Than a kid--

We know that he's completely flipped his lid

--Flipped his lid.

-by Bob B (8-27-19)

Greenland

DJT:

I want to buy Greenland.

Hey, this is fun!

I will turn the island into

State fifty-one.

They say ice is melting.

Bah! That’s okay.

When you mine and drill on the land,

Ice gets in the way.

I am going to buy Greenland.

You just wait and see.

I dare anybody

To say "NO!" to me.

I can’t wait to get my

Hands on all that gold,

Oil, copper, lead, and zinc.

I WON’T be undersold.

I plan to buy Greenland

With all its wolves and seals

And polar bears and penguins.

I’m so good at deals.

Polar bears will make terrific

Rugs. I don't care!
What? You say there are no penguins?

I will bring some there.

So I want to buy Greenland.

Is THAT unorthodox?

It should be so easy;

You know money talks.

Tell me: how could there be

Objections to my plan?

The whole world loves me;

I’m their favorite man.

I am buying Greenland.

I'm sure you've heard reports.

I'll construct my tower AND

I'll build some big resorts.

Greenlanders will love being

Part of my domain.

If anybody loses here,
Their loss will be my gain.

I can’t wait to buy Greenland.

This is not a ruse.

I’ll give them an offer—

One they can’t refuse.

If the Danes say "No," I'll

Do what I've done before:

I'll just have to start another

Blasted tariff war.

I want to buy Greenland,

Greenland,

Greenland….

-by Bob (8-24-19)

The Chosen One

He says he is the "chosen one."

Could the man be more deluded?

That he's totally lost his marbles

Could easily be concluded.

Listening to his rants can drive

The conscientious person insane.

How much more nonsense does he

Harbor in his addled brain?

To save us from what? That's the question

One must ask. One thing's clear:

His strategies divide the country,

Causing hatred, doubt, and fear.

Keeping track of all his lies

Is a monumental task.

Could he be more unfit for the office

Of president? one must ask.

He couldn't care less whether

His policies are in error

Or if he mistreats immigrants

During his odious reign of terror.

Our history of cruelty

From slavery to internment camps

Has haunted us for years, but Trump

Is gleefully upping the amps.

Was he "chosen" to help the wealthy,

Damage the economy, take away rights,

Inflict deep pain, hurt the environment,

And pander to evangelical whites?

If he was chosen to do all of that,

He has been doing an excellent job.

Just to know how much chaos he's wreaked

Certainly makes his cruel heart throb.

So if he must be chosen for something,

If only he forevermore

Could soon be the one CHOSEN

To EXIT through the White House door!

-by Bob B (8-22-19)

Wow! 70!

It's hard to believe it, but now it's official.

I've reached an important milestone today:

I am now a septuagenarian.

I can't help saying, "Hip hip hooray!"

It's not that being this old is so great,

But what I mean--and that's no jive--

Is how it beats the alternative.

Although I'm older, I'm still alive!

Alive and well; so far, so good.

I'm not ready to take my last bow,

Kick the bucket, or give up the ghost.

What is important? To live in the now.

Many friends and relatives didn't

Make it this far, which is sad.

Our times together make up some of

The fondest memories that I've had.

Life with all its exigencies

Can at times be overly demanding.

But knowing that life is impermanent

Is vital to our understanding.

Our bodies are like a river or stream--

Constantly flowing, constantly changing.

And, yes, when we advance in years,

We often need some rearranging.

Sixty was nice, but frankly the word

"Seventy" gently rolls off the tongue.

There are languages still to be learned,

Books to be read, songs to be sung.

I've been lucky all these years.

No, I really can't complain.

I'm ready to make a toast to life,

So pop the cork and pour the champagne!

-by Bob B (8-15-49)

Weep, America

Six-year-old Stephen Romero,

An energetic, vibrant boy,

Was full of curiosity,

Gregariousness, life, and joy.

On Sunday morning, young Stephen

And mom were both unaware

Of what was going to happen to them

During their Sunday trip to the fair.

Keyla Salazar was called

"La luchadora"° by her dad.

The thirteen-year-old's smile was one

Of the greatest treasures her father had.

On Sunday morning, Keyla, too,

Was totally unaware

Of what she was going to encounter

During her fateful trip to the fair.

Trevor Irby, twenty-five,

Was getting ready to propose

To someone very special to him.

At least so the story goes.

On Sunday, Trevor, along with a friend,

Decided to spend a day at the fair.

Surely, they had no idea

What they were going to encounter there.

Nineteen-year-old Santino Legan,

For reasons hard to understand,

Went to the Gilroy Garlic Festival

On Sunday with his gun in hand.

There he took the lives of Stephen,

Keyla, and Trevor. More blood was shed:

Thirteen other people were injured

Before the police shot him dead.

Weep, America; weep for our youth,

Killed by messengers of hate

Because we cannot draw the line

At how much we can tolerate.

Weep, America; weep again

That access to weapons goes unchecked.

Weep for murdered ones whose lives

Our lawmakers are supposed to protect.

Weep for all of us, for we

Cannot feel safe anywhere:

At school, at work, at stores, at concerts,

At places of worship, or at a fair.

-by Bob B (8-1-19)

°the fighter