Pawns in a Game

A virulent virus spreads; everything's on pause.

Governments scramble to survive.

When leadership falters, life is more uncertain.

We see that with number Forty-five.

The president attempts to act presidential

But leaves us with a giant question mark.

At a time when honesty is needed more than ever,

We are often left out in the dark.

When leaders spout that certain things are more important

Than living, we should run the other way.

They have sold themselves to cruel heartlessness.

They're the predators and we, the prey.

We can do our best to live out our lives.

Let's not subject ourselves to blame,

Even though at times we can't help but feel

That we are merely pawns in a game.

Some governors tell us to get back to work

Before safety measures are in place.

To them we are nothing but numbers, figures--

Statistics in an deadly database.

Some irresponsible newscasters say,

"This is not so bad as it seems."

Downplaying the danger to satisfy their whims,

They hurt us all by spreading dangerous memes.

Playing with our lives, many leaders try

To judge our worth based on market price.

If we want to win, some of us must lose,

They say to us while handing us the dice.

We can do our best to live out our lives.

Let's not subject ourselves to blame,

Even though at times we can't help but feel

That we are merely pawns in a game.

-by Bob B (4-30-20)

Has Pence No Sense?

Mike Pence paid a visit

To the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota.

Does the man have any sense?

Apparently, not one iota.

Everyone else around him was wearing

A mask, but oh, no, not he.

And he is supposed to be leading the COVID-

Nineteen task force. What a VP!

He said he wanted to thank people

By looking at them right in the eye.

He can't do that while wearing a mask?

His reasoning's hard to justify.

If eye contact while wearing protection

Is hard for him, then we should ask

If someone could PLEASE show the man

How to properly wear a mask!

He also stood very close to others.

Does the man not understand

What social distancing means? I guess

He lives in Michael's Wonderland.

Or does he think that God will protect him

From getting the virus because of prayer?

God would probably think, "Fool!

I had masks made for you to wear!"

Leaders ought to lead by example.

Sadly, Trump and his admin would rather

Provide us with mixed messages

And lies as on and on they blather.

-by Bob B (4-29-20)

Ready for Your Injection?

Where can I get my remedy

For COVID-19 today?

The president said he knows how he

Can make it go away.

He said it's very simple, for it

Merely involves an injectant--

Just inject into your veins

A household disinfectant!

Let me see: what would be better--

Lysol, Purell, or bleach?

Or maybe he would recommend

Getting a shot of each.

And then he offered another idea:

What might expedite

The death of the virus is bathing ourselves

In ultraviolet light!

For the longest time he pushed

A drug and strongly suggested

That it be made available,

Although it hadn't been tested.

His other strategy has been

To fire or demote

Those who don't agree with him.

Scientists take note.

What a guy! What a leader

To get us through this mess!

Where he gets his bizarre notions

Is anybody's guess.

By the way, he failed to mention

That Lysol injections do

Ultimately kill the virus

BECAUSE THEY KILL YOU, TOO!

-by Bob B (4-25-20)

Another Sad Story

In Texas, near San Antonio,

Lived a couple--two great guys,

Phillip and Tony, happily married,

But that shouldn't be a surprise.

Tony was a councilman;

Phillip owned a beauty shop.

All was well till COVID-19,

And then everything came to a stop.

Phillip grew ill and saw his doctor,

Who sent him home with some meds. So far,

His illness wasn't advanced, but soon

He had to be taken to the ER.

Tony also grew ill and tried

To stay home for as long as he could.

When he was rushed to the hospital,

Things were NOT looking so good.

Tony was placed in the room next to Phillip,

Who had been on a respirator.

Phillip's body gave out and he died;

Tony died a few hours later.

Phillip's mother had been living

With the two men, and she, too, came down

With the same virus, and so she must grieve

All by herself in the small Texan town.

Together at Fort Sam Houston, Phillip

And Tony will be laid to rest.

While living, the two men had each other.

At least we can say that they had been blessed.

This is just one of the many sad stories

That COVID-19 has brought to the fore.

Until the virus is under control,

We know for certain that there will be more.

-by Bob B (4-19-20)

From Denial to Blame Game

COVID-19 continues to spread.

We know that for a fact.

And yet it took the feds such

A long time to act.

Trump's denial at first didn't

Help the matter at all.

There are obvious consequences

When nations' leaders stall.

Trump supporters on TV report,

"People die every day

In swimming pools and accidents."

Obnoxious things to say!

One thing that makes their arguments

So utterly outrageous

Is that auto accidents

And pools are NOT contagious!

To save the economy, let people die?

That is what they're implying.

Their callousness and thoughtlessness

Are truly horrifying.

Trump's approach flip-flops daily,

From what we can see.

He wants ultimate power but no

Responsibility.

When state governors implement

Guidelines on his list,

He stupidly tells fanatic fans

To publicly resist.

He tells the country's governors

It's all in their hands.

Inept and lacking empathy,

He's tired of their demands.

By making them all fend for themselves,

He can later claim

That if the situation worsens,

They'll be the ones to blame.

It's all about the election to him--

That his power survives.

He hopes that no one sees how he's playing

Politics with our lives.

We can't move forward if we do not

Implement widespread testing.

Test, isolate, treat, and trace

Are what we should be requesting.

As one governor succinctly says--

Not wanting to blunder--

That it's much better to be six feet

Apart than six feet under.

-by Bob B (4-18-20)

The November March

(This poem can be sung to the melody of the "Mickey Mouse Club March.")

Please let three words ring out in

November on day three:

Y-O-U--A-R-E--F-I-R-E-D!

All across the country

We will see on each marquee:

Y-O-U--A-R-E--F-I-R-E-D!

You are fired!

You are fired!

We'll give three cheers and then we'll say good-bye!

Bye! Bye! Bye!

Join us as we march along

And sing the words with glee:

Y-O-U--A-R-E--F-I-R-E-D!

Then we'll have a

President who

Will deliver--

Who won't sell us

Down the river.

All the world will

Sing out loudly.

Please let three words ring out in

November on day three:

Y-O-U--A-R-E--F-I-R-E-D!

All across the country

We will see on each marquee:

Y-O-U--A-R-E--F-I-R-E-D!

You are fired!

You are fired!

We'll give three cheers and then we'll say good-bye!

Bye! Bye! Bye!

Join us as we march along

And sing the words with glee:

Y-O-U--A-R-E--F-I-R-E-D!

-by Bob B (4-15-20)

(Thanks, Larry.)

Easter 2020

I happened to see the Easter Bunny

On my way to Nowhere.

I asked him how he was. He said,

“You don’t want to go there.

“COVID-19, I have to say,

Is making me feel blue.

We can’t have our Easter egg hunts!

What’s a rabbit to do?

“I’m going to have to stay at home

And wallow, I’m afraid,

In jelly beans and chocolate

And watch ‘Easter Parade.’

“My Easter feast has been cancelled.

We have to “meet” on Zoom.

I’ll be celebrating while

Sitting in my room.

“I hope people were safe when buying

Easter goodies this year.

Better safe than sorry,” he added,

Wiping away a tear.

Keeping our distance and wearing our masks,

We chatted a very short while.

He said, “It’s weird: all these masks.

You CAN’T see others smile.”

Since he was in a bit of a hurry,

I said, “Old friend, stay well.”

I thought that he was smiling, but frankly,

It was hard to tell.

-by Bob B (4-12-20)

Dying Alone

The battle continues as COVID-19

Insidiously continues to spread.

People are doing their part to combat it--

Still not knowing what lies ahead.

The luckier folks have milder cases.

Self-quarantined, they hope they can win

The battle against the dangerous virus--

Trying to smile as their patience wears thin.

In hospital rooms around the country

People are struggling to stay alive.

The virus stealthily crosses all boundaries,

Seeking out places where it can thrive.

Health care workers everywhere

Are putting their lives in danger to give

Excellent treatment to those in their care.

Their goal: helping their patients to live.

Loved ones live in anguish and fear.

Unable to enter hospital rooms

To comfort the ones they love, they must

Avoid a place where danger looms.

Doctors and nurses, along with other

Trained medical personnel,

Perform their medical duties and serve

As "family" to the dying as well.

A laptop or phone might be the only

Contact some have with the world outside.

For many, their bodies succumb to the virus,

For they are unable to turn the tide.

Hold them in your heart--the ones

Who are isolated and on their own.

Embrace them all with loving thoughts--

The ones who sadly must die alone.

-by Bob B (4-9-20)

The Ballad of a Crisis Denier

This is the tale of a woman--

One who thought she knew best.

Social media allowed her

To get a few things off her chest.

COVID-19, she claimed,

Was merely a media hoax

Created by “radical people”

To hoodwink all of us folks.

She called it "socialistic.”

Moreover, she said it had

The trappings of an effort

To make her dear leader look bad.

We DON'T need hand sanitizer

Or rolls of TP by the tons.

What we need, she insisted,

Are "faith” and "fight” and "guns."

At the time she expressed her feelings,

What was unforeseen,

Was that a couple weeks later,

She'd die from COVID-19.

Had she but listened to experts

Instead of to nitwits and fools,

Maybe she'd be here today.

She should have been following rules.

Not to disparage her faith,

But somehow it didn't prevent

The woman from catching the virus

To such a deadly extent.

Would SHE have abandoned her faith

And her weapons? Probably neither.

But one thing we know for certain:

Her guns didn't help her, either.

The lesson we learn from her story

Is one that is NOT hard to miss:

Fools are not to be trusted,

For ignorance isn't bliss.

-by Bob B (4-7-20)

Make the Virus Disappear

(This poem can be sung to the melody of the song "Make the World Go Away" by Hank Cochran.)

Make the virus disappear;

Get it out of our lives now.

We can't wait for the "All Clear!"

Make the virus disappear.

Think back to when it all got started--

When it made its grand premiere.

Some said, "Oh, do not worry.

There is nothing there to fear."

Make the virus disappear;

Get it out of our lives now.

We can't wait for the "All Clear!"

Make the virus disappear.

Deniers, are you happy?

Consequences are severe.

It's like we're living out a nightmare.

Death's a lousy souvenir.

Make the virus disappear;

Get it out of our lives now.

We can't wait for the "All Clear!"

Make the virus disappear.

-by Bob B (4-7-20)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lq0Ri9e6SY0

Tell Me: Where's a Leader When You Need One?

Tell me: where's a leader when you need one--

When we have a crisis in full swing?

What we have is hardly what we need now:

Instead, we have a man who would be king.

We know the president's administration

Attended crisis briefings; it was warned.

And yet when people point out some of its failures,

They in turn are pilloried and scorned.

A national emergency requires

That we have all the proper tools at hand.

It requires a coordinated effort

And someone with some know-how in command.

What does Trump do? He puts Kushner in charge;

He wants his son-in-law to run the show,

As if he's an expert on pandemics.

Tell me: what the hell does Jared know?

The willful ignorance of those in charge

Of fighting a deadly virus that knows no borders

Has led to chaos. And sadly some who have spoken

The truth have been given their marching orders.

The states shouldn't have to compete for supplies.

And no one out there should be making a killing

On badly needed medical equipment.

What we see occurring is truly chilling.

By downplaying the crisis at the start,

The president put many lives in danger.

The fact that some have praised his slow response

In fighting COVID-19 is even stranger.

Also, playing favorites isn't right

When doling out necessary supplies.

Patchwork policies aren't going to help.

And most of us are tired of all the lies.

It's hard when the leadership is feckless--

And when there's moral bankruptcy at the top--

For any country to deal with major crises.

When is the nonsense going to stop?

So tell me: where's a leader when we need one?

The one we have leaves much to be desired.

If only this November we will hear

The lovely words, "Mr. Trump, you're fired!"

-by Bob B (4-5-20)

I"m Becoming a Germophobe!

Because COVID-19 is spreading

Rapidly around the globe,

Much to my dismay, I am

Becoming a major germophobe!

Taking care of groceries now

Takes a good part of the day.

I have to disinfect every

Item before I put it away.

Handles? Yes, I have to clean them--

On cabinets and on chests of drawers.

And all over the house I have to

Disinfect the knobs on the doors.

Remote controls? Telephones?

They all get the treatment, too.

My cell phone's probably crawling with bugs.

I hate to think what's on each shoe.

When going to the store, I say to myself,

"Be careful about all that you touch."

And what about the shopping cart?

This is getting to be too much!

My wallet? My money? My credit cards?

All of them might be harboring germs.

Where can we find a germ-free surface?

Is THAT a contradiction in terms?

Everything now is a major process--

A step-by-step procedure to rid

Everything we touch of the virus.

But really, whom are we trying to kid?

What about airborne droplets

Of COVID-19? Another worry.

If anyone near me sneezes or coughs,

I try to get away in a hurry.

When I come home, do I have to

Change my clothes just in case?

I almost need to tie down my hands

In order to keep from touching my face!

At gas station pumps, at ATMs,

The sneaky virus could also be lurking.

Should I wear a mask in public?

Many feel that masks are working.

No handshakes, kisses, or hugs, for I

Must keep a safe distance from all.

My hand sanitizer should have

A large amount of alcohol.

Alcohol? Hmmm. If it

Can kill the virus, could I be

Safe if I drink daily martinis?

Would that keep me virus-free?

Wishful thinking, I guess. I'll have to

Be mindful of every move that I make.

I'd MUCH rather be safe than sorry;

It's good to be cautious for everyone's sake.

-by Bob B (4-1-20)