Got My Vaccination

Think back to a year ago

When we had the chance

To slow a deadly virus down,

But some folks looked askance.

The issue grew political

And then we saw instead

That due to lack of leadership

The virus spread and spread.

 

I received my vaccination.

Now I feel relief.

We have watched the COVID virus

Cause a lot of grief.

As we all get vaccinated

We will start to see

The benefits around the world

Of herd immunity.

 

As the virus spreads we notice

Variants arise.

But that is how they work, and so

It should be no surprise.

If we don't act quickly now

The variants might start

Resisting vaccines that we have.

But for now take heart.

 

I received my vaccination.

Now I feel relief.

We have watched the COVID virus

Cause a lot of grief.

As we all get vaccinated

We will start to see

The benefits around the world

Of herd immunity.

 

So get your vaccination.

Don't give up the fight.

Make the virus go away

By doing what is right.

A little side effect or two

And maybe a sore arm

Might well lie in store for you,

But no cause for alarm.

 

I received my vaccination.

Now I feel relief.

We have watched the COVID virus

Cause a lot of grief.

As we all get vaccinated

We will start to see

The benefits around the world

Of herd immunity.

-by Bob B (2-28-19)

My Tax Returns

D.T.:

Why does everybody

Always want to see

My tax returns?

If I could have a secret,

It really ought to be

My tax returns.

Inflating values to get your loans:

There is really nothing to it.

Deflating values to lower taxes:

Doesn’t everybody do it?

 

Why do prosecutors

Want to have in hand

My tax returns?

I don’t think it’s fair

That they can all demand

My tax returns.

When you’re rich, doesn’t that mean

You should get a little break?

I’m in trouble mainly because

I give far less than I take.

 

I’m being hassled

‘Cause I want to hide

My tax returns.

Judges are stupid

To say I must provide

My tax returns.

If they say I committed fraud,

I’ll say that’s just fake news.

If they try to make me talk,

I will simply refuse!

 

I know that my fans

Don’t give a hoot about

My tax returns.

I can cheat and they’ll say that’s okay.

Winning means having all the right tools

To maneuver your way around the rules.

I’m pissed off

Because I have to show

MY TAX RETURNS!

-by Bob B (2-26-21)

Deep River

Marian Anderson was called

The "Voice of the Century" back in her time.

But her rise to fame and approval

Certainly wasn't an easy climb.

 

She knew when she was six years old

And sang in a choir at church that she

Planned to devote her life to music.

A well-trained singer was what she'd be.

 

The Philadelphia Musical

Academy was her glorious dream.

But she was told that "colored people"

Weren't allowed--a recurring theme.

 

And so she found a voice teacher

And tried to perform wherever she could.

Dance halls were a popular venue

Throughout the Harlem neighborhood.

 

When her New York Town Hall debut

Bombed as critics picked her apart,

In 1927 she sailed

To Europe, where she could polish her art.

 

Her time in Sweden, Germany,

Paris and London was time well spent.

Having developed her artistry,

Anderson triumphed wherever she went.

 

Germany in the 1930s…

Hitler's power grab gave her pause.

Anderson was dismayed to hear him

Praise America's Jim Crow laws.

 

Back to America she sailed,

Where she would be celebrated.

To packed houses she sang, although

Most of the venues were segregated.

 

At one moving performance Anderson

Entered the stage and faced the crowd.

Then she turned to the black section

With deep humility and bowed.

 

In 1939 the plan:

A concert at Constitution Hall.

However, the DAR° refused

To let her perform. Another wall.

 

She gave a concert instead on the steps

Of the Lincoln Memorial to powerful raves.

A giant crowd attended. Her voice

Was also transmitted on radio waves.

 

In 1950 Anderson married

Orpheus Fisher. Unusual name.

Way back when she was starting out,

Orpheus had been her old flame.

 

In 1955 the Met°°

Broke the color bar. That year

Anderson sang in an opera--

For some the capstone of her career.

 

In '63 once again

Marian Anderson broadened her scope

And sang at the March on Washington.

She refused to give up hope.

 

She died at the age of ninety-six.

For many years the world was blessed

With having this diva, who knew first-hand

What it was like to be oppressed.

Her rich, expressive contralto voice

Had a vibrant, velvety sound.

She sang with beauty and poise and grace.

No wonder she was so renowned!

 

Listen to her sing "Deep River."

Note her phrasing, her voice control.

How can you hear her and not feel her voice

Penetrate your very soul?

-by Bob B (2-22-21)

 

°Daughters of the American Revolution

°°The New York Metropolitan Opera

OFF TO CANCÚN / FLY ME TO CANCÚN

OFF TO CANCÚN

 

So if you're a U.S. Senator

And your state is besieged by cold,

Extreme weather, putting the state

In a catastrophic stranglehold,

 

With power outages, houses flooding

From bursting pipes, people dying,

Shortages of food and supplies--

The situation terrifying--

 

How do you help your constituents?

How do you show them that you are in tune

With all their pain and misery?

I know: why not fly to Cancún?

 

Ask Ted Cruz. That's what he did.

He did it for his kids, he said.

Why suffer here when he could

Play on a Mexican beach instead?

 

Actually, he cut his trip short,

And flew back home earlier than planned,

Only because he'd gotten caught

And had to leave the sunny strand.

 

Cruz reveals how little he cares

About the people and dodges attacks.

In a crisis, leadership matters.

And that is something the Senator lacks.

 

-by Bob B (2-19-21)

 

FLY ME TO CANCÚN

 

(This poem can be sung to the melody of the song "Fly Me to the Moon" by Bart Howard.)

 

Fly me to Cancún

So I can play upon the sand.

Let me get away from Texas.

Cold I can't withstand.

I want to play…in the sun.

I want to play….Who will miss me?

 

People in my state

Should understand what it's about.

I don't think the government

Should have to bail you out.

Just blame the Dems; they're the cause.

Yeah, blame the Dems, and their laws.

 

Anyone who wants

To leave can do it if they choose.

I am being attacked

Just because my name's Ted Cruz.

Some people say I'm not fair.

In simple words…

In simple words

I don't care.

-by Bob B (2-19-21)

Rush

He died at seventy years of age;

His words had poisoned a nation.

Much of what he ranted about

Was total fabrication.

 

White identity politics:

He set a blueprint for that.

And when he criticized liberals,

He upped the thermostat.

 

Race-baiting for him was certainly

Par for the course.

Constant attack was his strategy,

With no hint of remorse.

 

Being politically INcorrect

To show his point of view

And crossing the line of propriety

Were what he loved to do.

 

True he had his loyal fans

Who would never condemn

His bigotry and conspiracy theories.

What is wrong with them?

 

The Capitol insurrectionists,

Naturally, he'd spout,

Were NOT thugs, but patriots!

Figure that one out.

 

When giving him the Medal of Freedom

Despite his divisive ways,

Trump insulted all the people

Truly deserving of praise.

 

There are some who’ll jump for joy,

Knowing that Rush is gone.

But sadly all his vitriol

Continues to live on.

-by Bob B (2-18-21)