The Struggle of Robert E.

In rural Georgia lived a loving

Man known as Robert Eads.

People with a heart as big as his

Are more of what this world needs.

Life has in store for us

A future we can never foretell.

As loving and kind as a person is,

That doesn't mean that all will go well.

In 1996, Robert

Found out he had ovarian cancer.

Ovarian? How could that be? you ask.

He was transgender--a simple answer.

Experiencing abdominal pain,

Robert knew he needed assistance.

But because of his gender identity,

The sick man met with careless resistance.

As Robert grew sicker and sought treatment,

More than a dozen doctors would meet him.

But fearing he'd make their practice look bad,

Those same doctors refused to treat him!

Shirking their responsibility,

Those doctors sealed Robert's fate.

By the time he found one who would help him,

The cancer had spread; it was too late.

A year of aggressive medical treatment,

Gave him time with those he'd befriended,

And time with family, until the day

In '99, when his life ended.

Robert had never understood

How people could be so cruel, and yet

He bore no hatred and took each day

As it came without blame or regret.

How he had loved his girlfriend, Lola--

A transgender woman and love of his life!

If he were still alive today,

I'm sure that they'd be husband and wife.

In Robert's memory, a pine tree was planted.

His ashes were scattered at the base of the tree.

How often in life people must struggle

To be the person that they must be!

(7-17-16) By Bob B

Honor, My Foot!

This year Qandeel Balach

Was strangled by none other

Than a family member:

Her very uptight brother.

The young woman died--

As reported in the news--

Because she defied traditions

And maintained liberal views.

Having received death threats,

She didn't hesitate

To say she wanted to flee.

Sadly, now it's too late.

Her death was an "honor killing."

In Pakistan they say

That such killings occur

Almost every day.

The killers are often a relative.

Based on an ancient decree,

The family can forgive them,

And so they usually walk free.

Pakistani women

Live in a country that lacks

The will to stop such murders

And grisly acid attacks.

"Honor killings" they call them!

They more resemble insanity.

The absurd practice brings

Dishonor to humanity.

(7-16-16) By Bob B

Toppling the Walls of Jericho

It's frightening when in America

Trump's extremism becomes the norm.

For months we have watched as the man's

Demagoguery has taken form.

"It can't happen here," people have thought.

But how naïve we are! It's true:

Destructive storms of intolerance churn

And crash upon us from out of the blue.

The Party of Trump has taken over.

Yielding sheep have entered the fold.

They, along with many others,

Are waiting to be auctioned or sold.

Not only has Trump erected walls

Within America, but he's also trying

To persuade us to build a wall around us.

What he is doing is horrifying.

Demonstrators have raised their voices

And railed against the Trumpian scheme,

Underscoring the need to know

That this is NOT just a bad dream.

Strive to protect the soul of democracy;

Let the trumpets of reason blow.

Let the sounds of peaceful protest

Topple the walls of Jericho.

(7-15-16) By Bob B

E-mails, Schme-mails

House Republicans, eager to see

Clinton embroiled in a damaging scandal,

Found the FBI's findings

On her e-mails too hard to handle.

Trey Gowdy, the ghost of Congress,

With tactics matching his pasty look,

Is obsessed with manufacturing

A way to prove that Clinton's a crook.

This obsession with Clinton's server,

This paranoia, this mad fixation,

This desperate grasping at straws all have

The goal of character defamation.

Much ado about nothing, really.

A storm in a teacup. A giant yawn.

Let's get down to real issues.

E-mails, shme-mails. Let's move on!

(7-12-16) By Bob B

The Violence Must Stop!

Five policemen were killed in Dallas--

Ruthlessly shot by an angry vet.

We mourn the loss and denounce the killings.

At the same time, let's not forget

That other lives were also lost

In situations, which, of course,

Were also senseless and carried out

By cops who shouldn't have been on the force.

It's not a matter of taking sides.

Many families and friends are grieving.

Not to acknowledge the multi-faceted

Issues of violence is self-deceiving.

All of this killing has to stop!

You'd have to be heartless to get behind it.

Together we must take a stand

Against violence wherever we find it.

(7-11-16) By Bob B

El Corrido de "El Chapo" (The Ballad of "El Chapo")

If you know the tale of El Chapo,

You know then what will befall

Even the person who's known as

The most famous drug lord of all.

Exporting more drugs to America

Than anyone else in the past,

El Chapo lived like a king

On the millions of bucks he amassed.

You didn't mess with El Chapo.

Woe betide you if you did!

Not only would you suffer,

So would your spouse or your kid.

Back in the 90s El Chapo

Found himself in a scrape

And landed in a Mexican prison,

But he found a way to escape.

A protracted stay in the slammer

For him was not in the cards:

He bought his way to freedom

By bribing the prison guards.

For thirteen years El Chapo

Evaded capture and hid.

He kept up his shady dealings

While trying to stay off the grid.

Authorities in Chicago

Gave this man on the run

Notoriety as Public

Enemy Number One.

In 2015 the drug lord

Was back in prison again.

This time he fled through a tunnel

Dug by some of his men.

One day marines closed in.

They thought they'd caught their man.

El Chapo held a child

In his arms as he ran.

Soon El Chapo got sloppy.

No one could catch him, he thought.

Alas, the marines tracked him down.

Back to a cell he was brought.

The Americans wanted him badly.

Through extradition they

Hoped he would be an example

To show that crime doesn't pay.

Now awaiting his trial,

He sits in a federal jail.

There's no way El Chapo

Is going to get out on bail.

So, say good-bye, El Chapo,

As you sadly wipe your tears.

We hope you like your new home;

You're going to be there for years.

Yes, say good-bye, El Chapo,

To your Sinaloa Cartel.

A maximum security prison

Will be your new citadel.

-by Bob B (7-9-16; 2-4-18)

Another Tragedy

In a small central Californian town

On a summer afternoon in July,

A tragedy occurred, which forces

All of us to ask ourselves, "WHY?"

A three-year-old child, who with her mother

Was visiting family friends, is dead.

The girl, playing with a gun that she'd found,

Put a bullet through her head.

What a tragedy waiting to happen!

The gun was NOT equipped with a lock!

It lay in a bedroom somewhere, loaded.

What would it say if it could talk?

"I have bullets and I have a trigger;

I'll share the blame for the suffering you see here.

But you made me; not I you.

If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be here."

The gun was registered to a friend

Of one of the women living there.

Of all involved, who'll be held

Responsible for this sad affair?

How can such a tragedy happen?

Your guess is as good as anyone's.

We do know one thing: there are people

Who should not be in possession of guns.

(7-7-16) By Bob B

More Than Just Prayers

How many members of Congress are there

Who have blood on their hands--

Who receive cash from the NRA

And then obey its demands?

Back in the 1990s there was

A study by the CDC*

On what the effect of all our guns

On public health might be.

The NRA--objecting, of course,

To any regulations--

Sent lobbyists to legislators

To have some "conversations."

What a surprise! The CDC's

Budget was suddenly slashed

By a few million, and consequently,

The research program was trashed.

When dealing with special interest groups,

We've been too Pollyannish.

Challenge the NRA and then

Watch your funding vanish.

These "compassionate" members of Congress

Want to honor the dead

And NOT pass pertinent laws that might

Save some lives instead.

They want us to PRAY for victims of violence;

That's their insidious distraction.

Solving the problem of gun violence

Requires not prayers, but action!

(7-3-16) By Bob B

The top 20 Congressional lifetime recipients of cash from the NRA (1998 to 2016)**:

Sen. Roy Blunt (R) MO

Rep. Don Young (R) AK

Rep. Steve Chabot (R) OH

Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R) VA

Rep. Pete Sessions (R) TX

Sen. John Thune (R) SD

Rep. Mike Simpson (R) ID

Rep. Robert Aderholt (R) AL

Rep. Hal Rogers (R) KY

Rep. John Kline (R) MN

Rep. Sanford Bishop (D) GA

Rep. Ken Calvert (R) CA

Rep. Greg Walden (R) OR

Rep. Sam Graves (R) MO

Rep. Paul Ryan (R) WI

Sen. Richard Burr (R) NC

Sen. David Vitter (R) LA

Rep. Ed Whitfield (R) KY

Rep. Tim Murphy (R) PA

Rep. Joe Barton (R) TX

*Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

**From THE NATION, Vol. 303, Numbers 1&2, July 4/11, 2016

Benghazi Ad Infinitum

Certain House Republicans

Have become addicted

To a Benghazi conspiracy theory.

With what are these guys afflicted?

Trying to squeeze blood from a turnip,

These leaders have shown us ways

To stretch an investigation

Over 700 days.

This one's been the longest

That we've seen in the States.

Don’t the Congressmen

Have enough on their plates?

And seven million dollars!

Is that money well spent

After seven inquiries
Into the incident?

Some have admitted that

The investigation's no more

Than a way to discredit Clinton--

To give her a real what for.

To claim that the team is bipartisan

Would be saying a bit much:

The Republicans on the committee

Were basically out of touch

With the Democratic members,

Who mentioned their distress

At seeing the report only AFTER

It had gone to the press!

Gowdy and his cohorts

Have been obsessed with pursuing

A way to pin on Clinton

Evidence of wrongdoing.

There's nothing new or different

From the findings of previous reports.

The poor relentless bloodhounds!

Are their lives so out of sorts?

How many more millions

Do we have to waste?

The nonsense they've fed us leaves

A horrible aftertaste.

(6-30-16) By Bob B

Scammers

I'm so tired of scammers!

There are so many around!

For every situation,

A scammer is to be found.

There's the email message

From a "friend" stuck overseas

Whose money has been stolen--

Who needs your help, please.

Have you received the phone call

Saying that you're in big trouble

With the I.R.S. and insisting

That you must pay on the double?

Computer hackers will take

Your PC hostage and say

That you'll lose ALL your computer

Data unless you pay.

What about being a winner

Of a contest? All you must do

Is forward them some money

And they'll send the "winnings" to you.

If you by chance get a call

From "Microsoft" or "Dell"

Saying your account's in danger,

Tell them to go to hell.

Scamming probably reaches

Far back into history.

The demise of the Neanderthals

Might not have been a mystery.

Did early Homo sapiens

With carefully planned persistence

Scam neanderthalensis

Out of its earthly existence?

If scammers had put their know-how

In a positive direction,

We could say, "Three cheers

For natural selection!"

But, no, we're stuck with scammers--

A problem that clearly shows

That if we want to survive,

We've got to be on our toes!

(6-29-16) By Bob B

The Awakening

Under the sprawling Bodhi Tree,

Siddhartha sits with his primary vow:

How to alleviate suffering

In this world--here and now.

Suddenly, Mara appears--

Mara the tempter--with his sinister grin.

Siddhartha stays calm and unafraid

And graciously welcomes the tempter in.

Offering supernatural powers

Around which the human ego revolves,

Mara observes as Siddhartha sits,

And every thought of power dissolves.

Mara then offers his beautiful daughters,

Hoping Siddhartha yields to temptation.

In silence the unperturbed seeker

Shows the depth of his aspiration.

Growing furious, Mara calls up

Armies of demons of fear and desire.

They surely should stir Siddhartha's

Deep anxieties and inner fire.

Siddhartha merely gains greater insight

Instead of succumbing to Mara's ploys.

Mara departs in a rage, leaving

Siddhartha in a calm, quiescent poise.

After six days a Buddha "awakens"

As the traces of night start to disperse.

From looking into his innermost nature,

He's seen the face of the universe.

(6-28-16) By Bob B

Radhika

Radhika grew up in a poor Indian village.

She, her parents, and siblings faced droughts

Famines, diseases, and monsoons; sporadic

Good times were always clothed in doubts.

A gentlemen came to the village one day

And offered Radhika a job as a maid.

Oh, how exciting! A job in the city--

REAL work, for which she'd be paid!

Once in Mumbai, Radhika was led

To a hovel where she was brutally raped

And beaten and moved to a windowless room

At a brothel from which few girls escaped.

The poor young girl--eleven years old--

Learned very quickly how cruel life could be.

Her daily dream was to make her way home,

As soon as she found a way to flee.

Having lost years of her youth, Radhika

Escaped and went home at the age of sixteen

To parents who cast her out of the house

For being "sullied," for not being "clean."

Not knowing which way to turn--

With defeats piled on top of defeats--

Radhika returned in desperation

To the city, where she worked in the streets.

All over the world "Radhikas" exist--

On many levels, in many degrees.
Abuse and mistreatment cross all borders,
For cruelty is a worldwide disease.

(6-26-16) By Bob B

48 of 49

Forty-nine bodies lay in Orlando

Morgues waiting to be promptly claimed,

Which forty-eight families did.

One, however, was too ashamed.

One body lay unidentified--

Alone, rejected, day after day--

Because a stone-hearted father

Objected to his son's being gay.

So intransigent, so consumed

By his intolerant, cherry-picked views,

A father preferred to leave his son lying

In a cold morgue. Heart-breaking news!

After the horror of the nightclub massacre,

Adding insult to injury that dad

Showed the capacity of the human heart

To lack compassion. How very sad!

Extended family of the young victim

Later convinced authorities to release

The body into their care, so now

The abandoned son can rest in peace.

For years did the son have any support

From his dad, or was it too much bother?

One thing we know without a doubt:

The son deserved a better father.

(6-25-16) By Bob B

Charlotte Corday, 1793

When Charlotte Corday arrived in Paris,

She had only one thing on her mind:

To rid the world of Jean Paul Marat--

The veritable scourge of humankind.

Leaning toward the moderate Girondins,

Corday despised the Jacobin stance

Of killing opposers of the Revolution

And terrorizing the people of France.

Marat incited the Jacobin furor

With his deeply radical point of view.

Corday also blamed him for causing

The September Massacres of '92.

After journeying to Paris from Caen,

She found a shop, purchased a knife,

Wrote some words to the "friends of peace,"

And then set out to take Marat's life.

Imagine Marat in his bathtub writing--

An awkward position to find oneself in

When seeing guests; however, he suffered

From horrible sores all over his skin.

Corday spoke of an uprising

And provided names at Marat's request.

Then she took out the six-inch blade

And plunged it into the "monster's" chest.

Apprehended, tried and sentenced,

Corday drew some attention when

She asked to have her portrait painted.

(They milked the media even back then!)

Marat became a martyr--a man

Who'd caused innocent blood to be shed.

His body was marched through the crowded streets

While Charlotte Corday lost her head.

To save a hundred thousand lives

By killing one was Corday's goal;

But Marat's death wouldn't stop

The Terror, for more heads would roll.

Corday claimed she was acting alone

When choosing a course of action to take.

Unintended consequences

Often follow decisions we make.   

-by Bob B (6-24-16; 2-7-18)

In LOVE We Trust

How incredible it would be--

How inclusive, how fulfilling,

How thoughtful and compelling,

How ennobling, how thrilling,

How embracing of people all over,

How respectful, how caring,

How auspicious, how prudent,

How given to kindness and sharing,

How all-encompassing,

How miraculous, how smart,

How encouraging, how beautiful,

How full of compassion and heart,

How wholesome, how magnanimous,

How honorable and just--

If only our national motto could be

Stated simply, "In LOVE we trust"!

(6-23-16) By Bob B

Leaving Millions Behind

Television lost an icon
Back in twenty sixteen--
Someone who enjoyed being
A TV network queen.

Televangelist Jan Crouch

Left this world in May.

I wonder if she's hobnobbing now

With dear Tammy Faye--

The two together, hoping to be

In somebody's good graces,

With streaks of tears and makeup flowing

Down their shiny faces.

I doubt Jan has her pink-tinged

Cotton candy wigs

And scarlet gowns with puffy sleeves

And other fancy digs.

She won't need her private jet

Or homes in numerous states

Or millions a year in income if she's

Behind the pearly gates.

Hundreds of thousands in meal expenses

Won't do her much good

Wherever she has ended up,

In all likelihood.

Neither will her Newport Beach

Mansion serve her now.

(Did Paul leave her his Bentley when

He took his final bow?)

She also had to leave behind

Her doggies--sad to see--

And THEIR hundred thousand dollar

Luxury RV.

I guess we should be happy that

For a couple of generations

She could get enjoyment from

Contributors' donations.

(6-22-16; 2-18-18) By Bob B

Hostage Situation

It happened again, but we're not surprised:

The Senate voted down gun control measures.

The threatening of politicians has been

One of the NRA's greatest pleasures.

Clearly, our legislators have been

Taken hostage by the NRA,

Which watches for any opposition

And then swoops down like a bird of prey.

All of us are under the control

Of the organization, like it or not.

Listen sometime to the leaders' hateful

And bigoted speech; it's a lot of rot.

Pretending to be defenders of the rights

Of ALL Americans and our nation,

The NRA refuses to support

Sensible gun control legislation.

The organization preys on Americans'

Deep-seated insecurities and fears,

And turns a cold shoulder to carnage and massacres,

To suffering families, to grief and tears.

I wonder if the leaders had lost a loved one

In a massacre, would they change their tune?

Or are they too dazzled by their fantasy

Or thought of living out their own HIGH NOON?

Unfortunately, we're bound to see

The brutal deaths of more and more folks

While at the same time the NRA

Spreads its Second Amendment hoax.

(6-21-16) By Bob B

On Keeping One's Head in the Right Place

We've progressed in many ways:

We know the earth's not flat.

But killing in the name of God?

Now how absurd is that?

They say we have a developed brain,

But when you hear the news, it

Is pretty clear that many people

Don't know how to use it!

I know it's wise to try to find

What makes others tick.

But sometimes--darn!--it's difficult

To put up with their shtick.

To give the benefit of the doubt

Sounds very fine,

But there's a dangerous point at which

People cross the line:

Killing others just because

They don't think like you

Has to be a blatantly

Stupid thing to do.

All over you can find wise people--

In every nook and cranny.

You'll also find many a fool

Whose head is up his fanny.

(6-20-16) By Bob B

Grieving with Orlando

A weary calm settles this week on Orlando

As loved ones filled with sadness do their best

To grapple with their state of numb perplexion

As shooting victims are being laid to rest.

Funeral parlors schedule visitations

Of those whose lives so abruptly ended.

Families and friends unite in grief,

Their lives temporarily suspended.

A church bell tolls forty-nine times

As mourners fill the city with candlelight.

Some of the injured who manage to be present

Are scarred by memories of the dreadful night.

A makeshift memorial of cards, flowers, wreaths,

And flags honors those who lost their lives.

Despite the pain and anguish of the mourners,

A clear, powerful sense of love survives.

Some services will be held in tandem

For loving couples who together died.

Other services will be held in private

By grieving families who are horrified

That members of the Westboro Baptist Church--

That vicious, fiendish, ruthless congregation

Of heartless hatemongers--might appear

To inflict cruel pain and degradation.

Sometimes hiding behind the mask of religion

Hatred manifests itself until

Believers are moved to action, mistakenly

Thinking that they're carrying out God's will.

As we mourn, we pause to contemplate

The President's words so kind and aptly spoken

When he met with the victims' grieving families

And told them that our hearts, too, are broken.

Totally beyond our understanding

Is the depth of other people's sorrow.

May the love that they receive today

Help to mitigate their pain tomorrow.

(6-18-16) By Bob B

We're Your Friendly NRA

"In case you're wondering who we are,

We're your friendly NRA.

We work hard to fight against

Anyone who gets in our way.

"Feeling lost and insecure?

Feeling hopeless or dejected?

Come on down and buy your gun.

Your spirits will be resurrected.

"What? You want a handgun? Pshaw!

A handgun's just a sissy toy.

An assault weapon is what you need

To make you feel like a really big boy.

“The thought of guns everywhere

Titillates us to the core.

We can’t describe the ecstasy
Of having more and more and more!

"Your Congresspeople love to stick

Their hands into our bulging pockets.

Call it a little tit for tat--

Just keep us off your legal dockets.

"Our fearless leader is Wayne LaPierre.

With every gun sale he's elated.

Some say he prevaricates;

We say truth is overrated.

"Gun manufacturers,

You scratch our backs, we'll scratch yours.

We'll make sure that all can access

Weapons that are made for wars.

"Certainly our Founding Fathers

Knew what they were doing when

They envisioned assault weapons

In the hands of all brave men.

"Join our 'well regulated

Militia' here in the United States.

We don’t like our beloved Second
Amendment to undergo debates.

"We are doing all we can

To weaken all gun safety laws.

Please don't mention violence;

Every system has its flaws.

"We subscribe to firearm freedom--

A genuine right that's everyone's.

Here's one way to look at it:

Religious liberty for your guns.

"We’ll take anybody's money

To channel to a gun-worthy cause--

Even if it's Russian rubles

And maybe breaks a couple of laws.

"'Life, liberty, and the pursuit of guns'--

That's our motto, simple and clear.

Gun grabbers had best beware:

The NRA will persevere.

"So now you know who we are:

We're your friendly NRA.

Stockpile now and pay for it later.

Guns in any form make our day."

(6-17-16) By Bob B

Sick Minds

To show the extent of their Christian love,

A couple of preachers have nothing but praise

For the killer who massacred forty-nine people

In the Orlando club frequented by gays.

That forty-nine "pedophiles" were killed,

Roger Jimenez* thinks it's great.

Pedophiles? Doesn't he know

That most pedophiles are straight?

"It's a tragedy that more didn't die,"

The preacher added. Such hateful remarks!

A preacher in Arizona also

Made some comments creating sparks.

Steven Anderson**--from the city of Tempe--

Was just as cruel in his reflections.

(I wouldn't be surprised if the murders

Gave these two sick scoundrels erections.)

Anderson's happy that "predators"

Were killed in the recent shooting spree.

The preacher doesn't realize

That the real predator here is he.

They might read their Bibles and talk to God,

But neither preacher is on the level.

In fact, if they're talking to anyone,

They're probably talking to the devil?

I guess it shows that even a fool

Can be a preacher if he's so inclined.

It also shows that the minds of these two

Are just as sick as the killer's mind.

(6-14-16) By Bob B

*From Verity Baptist Church, Sacramento, CA

**From Faithful Word Baptist Church, Tempe, AZ

Pants on Fire!

After the nightmarish massacre in Orlando,

Clinton repeated her urgent demands

For the United States to keep dangerous

Weapons out of the wrong hands.

To her the matter is common sense.

She put it simply. That was it.

Trump, on the other hand,

Had his usual hissy fit.

His boldface lies about Clinton resurfaced:

She'll confiscate your guns, he said.

She plans to abolish the Second Amendment.

Trump has more lies than hairs on his head!

Each hyperbolic attack

That issues forth from his piehole shows

That innuendo, misinformation,

And vindictive attacks are all that he knows.

A man in his sixties going on eight

Can be a real pain in the rump.

A virus infects the Republican Party--

A virus known as Donald Trump.

(6-14-16) By Bob B