Rights Denied

After years of limited access

To the voting booth,

We are now--once again--

Facing an ugly truth:

 

While laws making it easy to vote

Should be watertight,

Many Americans do not feel

That voting is a right.

 

There were the 13th, 14th, and 15th

Amendments. That is true.

But lawmakers STILL found ways to make

Voting hard to do.

 

Fifty-six years ago

We Americans saw

The Voting Rights Act being

Signed into law.

 

One would think that that would be

The end of the battle, but no:

Now lawmakers all around

The country are saying, "Whoa!

 

"We can't make it easy to vote.

NO WAY nohow!

People might vote for the other person,

And that we can't allow."

 

We must pass the necessary

Laws for voter protections.

If not, we'll have to say good-bye

To free and fair elections.

-by Bob B (8-7-21)

Poor Afghanistan

For nearly twenty years we've fought

A war against the Taliban,

As U.S. and allied forces have

Chased a mirage in Afghanistan.

 

A war that spanned four presidents

And bad policy decisions

Will soon be coming to a close,

Despite the Afghans' ongoing divisions.

 

To many Afghan girls and women,

Our presence there has been a relief.

Having endured years of oppression,

They had had their share of grief.

 

Once we leave, Taliban forces

Most likely will achieve their goal

As city after city falls

And they are able to regain control.

 

If only we could have said to the people,

"If you want to get out, leave now.

We will find a safe place for you

Elsewhere in the world somehow."

 

But, alas, that didn't happen.

The idea didn't resonate

With other countries in the world.

And so the Afghans are left to their fate.

 

I'm afraid to imagine what

Will happen to the women then,

As the extremist leaders cut off

Their path to education again.

 

And woe to all the translators

Who helped the Western forces there.

If we can't help them flee the country,

Their safety will be up in the air.

 

Western leaders who tried to contain

The region's volatility,

Have--with our four presidents--

A shared responsibility.

 

I pity the poor people who must

Be ruled by the Taliban,

But we cannot continue to fight

An endless war in Afghanistan.

-by Bob B (8-6-21)

The Fading Stars and Stripes

The vigor is gone from the Stars and Stripes.

What's happening is truly degrading.

The purity of the WHITE is sullied;

The RED and BLUE are slowly fading.

The sullying of the color WHITE,

Which stands for innocence, reveals

That we are slipping--that we are not

Holding true to our ideals.

 

Are we innocent if we

Ignore the years of hard-fought fights

For justice and equality

As we dismantle voting rights?

 

If RED means hardiness and courage

And the readiness to sacrifice,

What we're seeing happening now

Makes that meaning imprecise.

 

Too many people refuse to make

A sacrifice and throw a fit

When asked to do so to help protect

The lives of others, if even a bit.

 

If BLUE stands for vigilance,

Perseverance, and justice for all,

Then our approach to those areas

Needs a major overhaul.

 

Perseverance for many means

Believing conspiracy theories that make

Others wonder how truth can be

Such an easy thing to forsake.

 

Vigilance is also lacking

In many people who fail to see

That huge threats of attacks from our own

People are not hyperbole.

 

And BLUE for justice for all? Sadly,

That is something we can't declare yet.

Discrimination, selfishness,

And bigotry prove that we're not there yet.

 

By doing what's right, we must inject

More color into the current Old Glory.

If not, what we'll see will be

A sad end to America's story.

-by Bob B (8-5-21)

The Ballad of Number 45: Four Long Years

It’s hard to know how the country

Survived having to spend

A four-year term with 45.

I thought it would never end.

 

Four long years of scandals;

Fours years of anguish and grief;

Four long years of fatuous tweets,

With little if any relief.

 

Four long years of a slogan

To make America great.

And yet the president seemed much more

Preoccupied with hate.

 

Four long years of hearing

Constant words of praise

For Vladimir Putin and other strongmen

And their autocratic ways.

 

Four long years of watching

His sycophants kiss his rear

And be afraid to tell him what

He didn’t want to hear.

 

Four long years of lies.

The number hasn’t been topped.

And though he is out of the White House now,

His lying hasn’t stopped.

 

Four long years of observing

Extremists in his base

Become so extremely emboldened that

An insurrection took place.

 

Four long years of feeling

As though we were swimming with sharks,

For he loved tearing people apart

With his nasty remarks.

 

For four long years we heard

Constant “alternative facts,”

For one of his guiding principles is

Anything that distracts.

 

Four long years of our lives—

Unrecoverable time.

If voters decide to give him four more,

THAT will be a crime.

-by Bob B (8-3-21)

If I Develop Dementia

If I develop dementia someday,

Will the condition be obvious to me?

Will I be able to know that I

Am out of touch with reality?

 

Will I notice that when I speak,

People exchange puzzled glances?

Will I also be cognizant of

All of my changing circumstances?

 

Will I notice that people are rolling

Their eyes every now and then

When I continue to ask the same

Questions over and over again?

 

Will people say, "I told you that

Three times already!" and not understand

That my behavior needs a patient

Response and not a reprimand?

 

In certain situations will

I know why I am lost or confused?

If somebody tries to shame or hurt me,

Will I know why my heart is bruised?

 

It will not help to scold me because

I'll forget whatever you say.

In fact, I doubt I'll even remember

That we saw each other today.

 

If I forget your name or who

You are, I hope you are not sad.

If you remember me when I

Was young and alert, I'll be glad.

 

As of now, I think my mind

Is pretty clear, and so I won't

Worry yet. But then again,

Maybe YOU know something I don't.

-by Bob B (8-1-21)

Washington to the Rescue: Marching Song, 2021

In 1777 we hear

Death from smallpox was a fear.

Much to Washington's dismay,

Troops were dying every day.

 

Sound off: one, two;

Sound off: three, four;

Bring it on down: one, two,

Three, four…(beat)…THREE, FOUR!

 

Despite the soldiers expertise,

Most of them died from disease.

Smallpox was a bigger threat

Than dying from a bayonet.

 

Trying to think outside the box,

The British even used the pox

To cause much greater deprivation

By spreading it through the population.

 

In Europe there were indications

Of the value of inoculations.

So British troops were free from worry

While smallpox germs unleashed their fury.

 

Sound off: one, two;

Sound off: three, four;

Bring it on down: one, two

Three, four…(beat)…THREE, FOUR!

 

Washington said, "This won't do.

If WE don't act now, we are through."

Showing that he had a spine,

He had to lay it on the line:

 

To stop from being obliterated,

He had all troops inoculated.

That was a major contribution

To the American Revolution.

 

When lack of knowledge feeds distrust,

Using wisdom is a must.

We know that when sickness thrives,

A shot in the arm can save our lives.

 

Sound off: one, two;

Sound off: three, four;

Bring it on down: one, two

Three, four…(beat)…THREE, FOUR!

-by Bob B (8-1-21)