Now I Lay Me Down...

An odd prayer to say at bedtime--

Especially for the children's sake--

Is one that has them saying each night

"If I should die before I wake."

 

“Die before I wake”? Oh, no!

That is not a comforting thought--

That all my efforts to live and breathe

This very night could come to naught?

 

So when the kiddies say the prayer

"Now I lay me down to sleep…,"

Just imagine all the thoughts

That into little heads might creep:

 

Thoughts rekindling many fears--

Of ghouls sucking out their breath,

Of monsters crawling out of the closet,

Of countless things that might cause death.

 

And after that, while the children's

Imaginations are on a roll,

They think that from a distant place

A "lord" is going to take their soul.

 

How can that be comforting?

Wouldn't something life-affirming

Be much more appropriate

And not have little bed goers squirming?

 

Something giving them joy and hope,

Something that will help them thrive

And learn to appreciate the world

And thus feel lucky to be alive?

 

Are little ones still saying that prayer?

Are there parents who still demand it?

I guess that one would have to be

A praying sort to understand it.

 

Now I lay me down to sleep,

I hope I won't be counting sheep.

Let's ALL have pleasant dreams instead,

And wake up glad that we aren't dead.

-by Bob B (12-31-24)

Santa Sings the Blues

When Santa returned to the slushy North Pole--

Effects of global warming, you see--

He sat down in his old recliner,

Sighed, and muttered, "Oh, dear me."

 

Mrs. Claus--who had been in bed--

Entered the room and felt distressed

To see her hubby in such a state--

So disconsolate and depressed.

 

She offered to make him a cup of hot coffee--

Something that Santa would never refuse--

As he wrote lyrics to what he called

"The Merry Little Christmas Blues":°

 

"I don't like what's happening to Christmas;

It's just not the same.

It's now so

Commercial that it's such a shame.

 

"I don't like what's happening to Christmas;

Gone are peace and joy.

I now fear

For every little girl and boy.

 

"Wars rage on bringing suffering

All around the world. So sad.

Many folks follow autocrats.

Oh, I think the world's gone mad.

 

"If the people will not say good-bye to

Hatred, war, and greed,

I fear that compassion cannot intercede.

Compassion's what all people in the world need."

 

That's what Santa sang to the missus,

And she--poor lady--started to cry.

Santa then repeated two stanzas

While gently wiping a tear from his eye.

 

"Wars rage on bringing suffering

All around the world. So sad.

Many folks follow autocrats.

Oh, I think the world's gone mad.

 

"If the people will not say good-bye to

Hatred, war, and greed,

I fear that compassion cannot intercede.

Compassion's what all people in the world need."

 

"I'm sorry, my dear," said Mrs. Claus,

"But your sad song is making me weep.

You have had a busy night.

Go lie down and get some sleep."

-by Bob B (12-28-24)

°Santa wrote his lyrics to a blues version of the melody to "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas."

Paying for Having Paid for It

The House has released an official report

On Matthew Gaetz, former member.

The special, unwanted Christmas gift

Was given to him this December.

 

Accused of having obstructed Congress

And violated House rules,

Gaetz apparently thinks that he

Can do no wrong and we are fools.

 

If you ask some members of Congress

To share the impression that they have had

Of Gaetz since they have gotten to know him,

They would say that he's a cad.

 

They learned that he paid thousands of dollars

For drug use and also for sex.

Can he deny the evidence?

I wonder if he paid with checks.

 

That isn't all, of course, for Gaetz's

Shocking list of infractions gets finer:

On top of everything else, he's been

Accused of having sex with a minor.

 

And this is the guy that Trump had wanted

To be AG! Not surprising,

For Trump would very likely think,

"Oh, he's merely womanizing."

 

Gaetz admits that he's sent "funds"

To women he has dated. I see.

Whatever he calls it, it sounds as though

He was paying for sex to me.

-by Bob B (12-26-24)

The New President

We will have a new president,

And no, it won't be Donald Trump.

Actually, it's Elon Musk--

Trump's newest sidekick-chump.

 

It's Elon Musk--the money man,

And one for whom Trump has the hots--

Who will be the one in charge.

Musk will now be calling the shots.

 

When you're the richest man on Earth,

You can do whatever you want.

Flash your money at Trump and you'll

Be his newest confidant.

 

The richest man on Earth can also

Use his money to threaten those

Who do not do his bidding or who,

Instead of ayes, will give him noes.

 

Interestingly, Elon Musk

Wasn't even born in the States

And legally couldn't run for office.

What kind of nonsense now awaits?

 

Privatization is his goal.

Social programs are under attack.

If he and his cronies get their way,

Consider how far they'll set us back.

 

Now that Musk is in Trump's ear,

Trump will be the titular head,

But President Musk without a doubt

Will be running the show instead.

 

Musk has wormed his way to the top;

The consequences could be huge.

I wonder how long their friendship will last

And which one of them is the other one's stooge.

-by Bob B (12-21-24)

The Aftermath

Where was all the election fraud

That Trump declared was going on

As he vigorously campaigned

And as his battle lines were drawn?

 

Oh, I see: fraud occurs

In the event he does not win,

For IF Republicans should lose,

Fraud's the story that they spin.

 

After a vicious, nasty campaign

Of stirring up fear and employing deceit,

Trump has won a second term

With help from his buddies on easy street.

 

Once he is in office again,

We will see an escalation

Of his being able to get his way

Through vengeance and intimidation.

 

He and his crony Elon Musk,

Who has become his partner in crime,

Are ramping up the threats already.

So here's a Trumpian nursery rhyme:

 

Donnie Trumpy, pudding and pie,

Wants his way or else he'll cry.

Watch him as he flouts our laws;

How much damage will he cause?

-by Bob B (12-19-24)

Some Still Believe in Santa

When you were a child, did you

Believe in Santa Claus? If so,

Did you ever doubt his actions?

Or was that far too long ago?

 

Did you wonder how the man

Could know which kids were naughty or nice,

Or how he could give gifts to so many

Kids in the world and be so precise?

 

It's like today: a lot of people

Find no fault with Trump's absurd

Policies and promises,

And never attempt to question his word.

 

They do not think his tariff plans

Will have a negative effect

On the nation's economy,

Which could easily be wrecked.

 

They don't consider how mass deportations

Of millions of people living here hurts

ALL of us, including the racist

Americans, with whom Trump flirts.

 

They can't imagine how the crackpots

That he appoints to his admin team

Will put us in danger as they support

His anti-rule-of-law regime.

 

They don't even react when Trump

Thumbs his nose at rules and laws.

Yes, a lot of adults--it appears--

Still believe in Santa Claus.

-by Bob B (12-10-24)

The Pardon

So President Biden pardoned Hunter.

Of course, he was attacked--

Especially by the Right that had

To scream and overreact.

 

"Corrupt!" they called him. They said he had

Abused his power. Oh, no!

Have they forgotten what Trump had done

Just a few years ago?

 

Consider the REAL crooks that Trump

Pardoned and also set free.

No president has ever been

As corrupt as he.

 

Some of those he's pardoned are being

Given positions as well

In government, and yet Trump now

Screams to bloody hell.

 

Trump has also said he will pardon

Insurrectionists, who

To him were merely patriots.

A warped point of view.

 

But Biden is favoring family,

Some people will say.

Trump did that before and still

Continues to do it today.

 

He says that Biden has weaponized

The DOJ. Oh, my!

Trump must learn to take the log

Out of his own eye.

 

His pick for future AG has

A hit list to carry out.

With Trump in his ear, who knows what

Nonsense will come about.

 

If you're upset with Biden now,

Get over it, and hurry.

After Trump's in office again,

You'll have a bigger worry.

-by Bob B (12-3-24)