Shut Up and Put on Your Mask!

As cases of COVID-19 keep rising,

Denial is not the best solution.

Pretending the virus is not a threat

Won't bring about its diminution.

Talking about inflated numbers,

Calling it names like the "kung flu,"

Saying that it will disappear

On its own? Truly, the wrong thing to do.

When people don't heed the guidance of experts

And choose instead to rationalize

Careless behavior, they are allowing

Foolishness to wear a disguise.

Beating this virus requires that we

Work together and do our part

To implement the best and wisest

Practices--to do what's smart.

Maintain social distancing,

Avoid crowds in closed-in places,

And wear a mask when out in public.

We've GOT to stop the rise in cases.

If covering your nose and mouth

To you is a disagreeable task,

Instead of whining about your freedoms,

Just shut up and put on your mask!

-by Bob B (6-29-20)

Oh, How I Love My Rallies!

D.T.:

I'm sure by now you recognize

My wonderful expertise

Of stirring up my base by trying

To put their minds at ease.

If an issue threatens to cause

Danger or distress,

I'll just lie to my fans in order

To gain their faithfulness.

Oh, how I love my rallies

And how they make me feel!

Everyone wants to see me because

I've got crowd appeal.

COVID-19 won't stop my fans;

I defy it to try.

I can win in November even

If some of them have to die.

I deal with serious problems by using

A very special technique:

Ignore them and they will go away,

And DON'T appear to be weak.

If I wore a mask, well,

Then I'd have to admit

That there's a serious problem, and then

The market would take a hit.

Oh, how I love my rallies

And how they make me feel!

Everyone wants to see me because

I've got crowd appeal.

COVID-19 won't stop my fans;

I defy it to try.

I can win in November even

If some of them have to die.

Kim Jong Un gets hundreds of thousands

To praise him in the square.

Maybe they don't have a choice,

But, frankly, I don't care.

When the crowd before me cheers,

It fills my heart with glee.

They see me as their savior, and that

Is ALL that matters to me.

Oh, how I love my rallies

And how they make me feel!

Everyone wants to see me because

I've got crowd appeal.

COVID-19 won't stop my fans;

I defy it to try.

I can win in November even

If some of them have to die.

-by Bob B (6-26-20)

Still Here

COVID-19 is still around us;

Don't think the virus has disappeared.

In fact, what is happening now

Is just what many people had feared.

Numbers are rising in many states.

Many people have lowered their guard.

While some of us are being careful,

The careless ones are making it hard.

Consistent messaging has been

Lacking from our leadership.

And what kind of guidance are

We now getting? Practically zip!

Because the wearing of masks is required

In certain places, people complain

At city council meetings. It makes

You wonder: Can't they use their brain?

As we reopen, we have to consider

A whole new way of thinking. What's more,

We can't--for now, at least--behave

Exactly as we behaved before.

We should watch how other countries

Got the virus under control.

Something here is not working.

Negligence is taking its toll.

As much as we'd like to wish it away,

Facing reality is a must.

It would be especially nice

If we had a president we could trust.

-by Bob B (6-15-20)

Sad, Sad, Sad

Trump’s America: sad, sad, sad.

The horrors are quickly coming to a head.

After three and a half ugly years,

See where his failure to guide us has led.

What have we heard over and over--

Hateful rhetoric, thousands of lies?

Democratic values to him

Are merely something to pulverize.

Accountability: what's that?

He's fought it every inch of the way.

His low and demeaning attacks on our freedoms

Were bound to blow up in our faces one day.

"What can I do to rally my base?"

He wonders. "Be as obnoxious as ever.

I can do whatever I want;

I just have to pull the right lever."

To unify the country? No way!

That hasn't been a part of his plan.

We've seen what happens when people elect

A president who's a shifty con man.

His groveling toadies in Congress have lost

Any integrity they might have had.

Their cowardly actions have shown us that if

Trump is toxic, they're just as bad.

"A fish rots from the head down."

We often hear that said, I know.

But with all that is happening here,

The old expression is so apropos.

A virus spreads; people are dying.

To Donald Trump, Wall Street comes first.

It's all about attention and money

For which he has an unquenchable thirst.

We know where his loyalties lie,

And it's NOT with us common people, for sure.

Beneath his pompous bluster lies

A man who's weak and insecure.

Come November we have to decide:

Do we give the tyrant the boot,

Or do we allow him to bring the country

Into greater disrepute?

-by Bob B (6-12-20)

Don't Put Your Mask Away

You don't have to live in fear

Or be a germaphobe

To be on guard when a pandemic

Spreads around the globe.

Erring on the side of caution

Makes a lot of sense.

The benefits of wise and prudent

Behavior are immense.

So, don’t put your mask away;

Put it to excellent use.

You don’t like the way it feels?

That’s a poor excuse.

If you're asked to wear a mask,

Don't raise holy hell.

Wearing a mask could save your life

And other lives as well.

For certain inexplicable reasons

Some people are loath

To do something that might prevent

The exponential growth

Of COVID-19, a nasty virus

That hasn't left the scene.

It would be nice not to have to

Self-quarantine.

So, don’t put your mask away;

Put it to excellent use.

You don’t like the way it feels?

That’s a poor excuse.

If you're asked to wear a mask,

Don't raise holy hell.

Wearing a mask could save your life

And other lives as well.

Someday we can look forward to

Not having to wear

A mask that covers our nose and mouth

And seems to cut off our air.

For now, let's all cooperate,

And please do not revile

A practice, which--though not so fun--

Is certainly worth our while.

So, don’t put your mask away;

Put it to excellent use.

You don’t like the way it feels?

That’s a poor excuse.

If you're asked to wear a mask,

Don't raise holy hell.

Wearing a mask could save your life

And other lives as well.

-by Bob B (6-11-20)

BLM

Look upon the ocean horizon

And tell me what perchance you see.

"I see a ship that's bringing enslaved

People to toil in the land of the free."

This happened over and over again.

Tell me: did black lives matter then?

I see families weeping together.

Ask them why? What did they say?

"They said their loved one was lynched by a mob

Who call themselves the KKK."

This happened over and over again.

Tell me: did black lives matter then?

Why are those people spitting on

Those kids seeking better schooling?

"They don't like the idea of

The country's integration ruling."

This happened over and over again.

Tell me: did black lives matter then?

Why are police using whips,

Tear gas, and clubs on marchers? Take note!

"Ah, they are demonstrators

Marching for the right to vote."

This happened over and over again.

Tell me: did black lives matter then?

Many people seem upset.

What might be the explanation?

"Disproportionate figures of

Brutality and incarceration."

This happens over and over again.

When so, do black lives matter then?

Some people say “All lives matter,”

But all lives haven't for hundreds of years.

Stop rivers of hate and injustice

That empty into an ocean of tears?

-by Bob B (6-9-20)