Death

Compared to the age of the universe,

Our time on Earth is rather brief.

Still, the longer we live, the more

We'll walk hand and hand with grief.

 

Death knocks on the doors of others

And calmly ushers them away.

No matter how much a person resists,

Death will have its final say.

 

When losing family and friends,

It's hard to describe the pain we feel.

But when we consider our own demise,

The whole idea is oddly surreal.

 

The thought of suddenly being no more--

At least in our current bodily form--

Is totally foreign to us, for knowing

The world through our senses has been the norm.

 

Someday my favorite chair

Will no longer feel my rear.

The sound of my voice--my cries, my laughter--

Will not reach a single ear.

 

When I go, I’ll join the ranks

Of billions of other people who

Have died before me, which reminds me

That having to die is nothing new.

 

To let go and face the unknown,

Not to worry, not to fret…

We know that life is constant change--

That death is part of life--and yet….

-by Bob B (4-26-22)

The New Battle Cry

Republicans used to believe

That democratic values will win.

Lately, however, they sing a new tune:

To hell with democracy; save your skin!

 

Power is what excites them now.

"Voter fraud!" is what they spin.

Voter suppression's their goal as they cry:

To hell with democracy; save your skin!

 

McCarthy and McConnell knew

The mess that Donald Trump was in,

And yet they chose to honor the motto:

To hell with democracy; save your skin!

 

It used to be that any support

For an autocrat would be a sin.

Now in bed together they shout:

To hell with democracy; save your skin!

 

To gain more power, they gerrymander

Districts in states, which is akin

To trashing our system as they proclaim:

To hell with democracy; save your skin!

 

Deceitful methods to stay in power

They will use and feel no chagrin.

The battle cry uniting them is

To hell with democracy; save your skin!

-by Bob B (4-22-22)

Don't Throw Your Mask Away!

Despite what people want to believe,

COVID hasn’t disappeared,

And yet there's less attention being given

To masks and precautions, which is weird.

 

The virus continues to mutate, and though

It's maybe less potent than earlier forms,

The clouds haven't dissipated,

So we can expect future storms.

 

Even though the virus seems weaker,

People still grow ill and die.

The vaccinated are more protected;

There's no need to wonder why.

 

It's sad to see restrictions being

Lifted too early in certain cases.

Variants of the virus are spreading

Rapidly in certain places.

 

Conspiracy theories abound regarding

The COVID vaccine, sad to say.

But I'll take my chances with the vaccine

Over COVID any day.

 

And if you think that COVID was bad,

Experts warn us not to be smug.

Chances are good that in the future

We will see a deadlier bug.

 

In the meantime, I'll keep getting

My booster shot, and I know I'm

Going to be wearing my mask in buildings

And also on planes for a long, long time.

-by Bob B (4-21-22)

 

My Leo Sun and My Taurus Moon

How I look at the world each day

Is a curious interplay

Of fire and earth, cadent and fixed,

And often my impressions are mixed.

The world entices me from the cocoon

Of my Leo Sun and my Taurus Moon.

 

How I shine and how I feel…

To find a balance would be ideal.

The goal, of course, is to do what's right;

The nuances are ever so slight.

It's just a matter of being in tune

With my Leo Sun and my Taurus Moon.

 

Although I'm more complex than this,

Their strong influence is hard to miss.

Understanding who I am

Partly comes from the diagram

Of what occurs when they commune--

My Leo Sun and my Taurus Moon.

 

It isn't just as simple as that--

My Sun and Moon both having a chat.

It might make me ill at ease

To ignore the many intricacies

Of aspecting planets. Never jejune

Are my Leo Sun and my Taurus Moon.

 

Add my Rising Sign and see

How other people look at me.

Virgo adds more earth to tame

And somewhat soften my Leo flame.

There's no reason to ever impugn

My Leo Sun and my Taurus Moon.

 

Finding answers within and without

Helps to dispel the burden of doubt.

Tools to study the self abound;

What we discover can be profound.

Knowledge of self comes never too soon

With my Leo Sun and my Taurus Moon.

-by Bob B (4-19-22)

Holiday Massacre

Ramadan, Passover,

And Easter coincide this year,

But THAT doesn't matter to Vladimir Putin,

For he has a war to engineer.

 

He has arranged for a senseless war

To be carried out on Ukrainian soil.

Why be concerned about human compassion

When there is a neighboring land to despoil?

 

Geneva Conventions to Putin mean nothing.

Depraved dictators make their own rules,

Bombing civilian hospitals,

Train stations, homes, and schools.

 

The world has witnessed other examples

Of paranoid, cruel, despots before

Who have no qualms about committing

Monstrous atrocities during a war.

 

To massacre innocent people so

Is nothing short of genocide.

When the war is over how many

Innocent people will have died?

 

Whatever you are celebrating--

If anything--don't refrain

From holding a special place in your heart

For the people suffering in Ukraine.

-by Bob B (4-17-22)

Don't Be Afraid to Say Gay

Florida wants to show

Its hateful, nasty side

By lashing out at gays

With zeal that it won't hide.

Governor DeSantis

Will not be outdone.

He wants to make a case

Where there's really none.

But who cares what

DeSantis has to say?

Turn his words around

And don't be afraid to say gay.

 

Other states will now

Attempt to follow suit

With explanations that

They will convolute.

It matters not to them

What is right or wrong.

It's just a culture war

That nudges them along.

When states try to put

Their bigotry on display,

Turn their words around

And don't be afraid to say gay.

 

Using toxic words

Like "groomers" to suggest

That anyone who's gay

Is on a lecherous quest,

Backers of the bills

Frequently beguile

Voters with the use

Of words like "pedophile."

When fanatics try

To bully you this way,

Turn their words around

And don't be afraid to say gay.

 

Autocratic rulers,

Backed by troglodytes,

Despise tolerance

And stomp on human rights.

Don’t let other people

Intimidate you. No!

Just be who you are,

And tell them where to go.

Love is love is love,

So don't be led astray.

Turn their words around

And don't be afraid to say gay.

-by Bob B (4-11-22)

More on the QAnon Queen

Dangerous you might call her.

Off her rocker as well.

Her strange, obnoxious behavior

Is hard for her to quell.

 

How she was ever elected

Is anybody's guess,

And yet she's found supporters

To give her the guise of success.

 

Totally out of place

In Congress, she carries on

As though her sense of decorum

And decency are gone.

 

She heckles speakers in Congress,

And always seems to be lusting

After ill-gotten attention.

Her antics are disgusting.

 

Her wacky QAnon stories

Are so far off base

That any sensible person

Would find them hard to embrace.

 

Now she's attacking opponents

In her typical style:

If you oppose her ideas,

You're called "pro-pedophile."

 

She lives for lies and drama

And loves to make a scene.

You must know who she is:

Marjorie Taylor Greene.

-by Bob B (4-7-22)