BOO!

Halloween is approaching, and so

You'd better watch out for spooks.

Watch out for zombies and vampires and witches.

Most of all watch out for kooks.

 

Ghosts are out there hoping to scare you

And trying to put on the squeeze

For you to think that the COVID vaccine

Is worse than the disease.

 

They haunt the halls of Congress and make

Appearances anywhere,

Looking for innocent victims to

Intimidate or scare.

They don't mind Halloween masks

That might look gruesome or gory.

But wearing masks to save human lives?

That is a different story!

 

Once a zombie bites you, you

Join the walking dead,

Which shows how easy it is for mistrust

And ignorance to spread.

 

Vampires want to feast on the blood

Of truth that runs through your veins,

After that, your appetite

For blood is all that remains.

 

Witches know how to concoct a potion

To make you want to distrust

Our institutions, many of which

They want to see bite the dust.

 

Kooks are scary, for sometimes they

Are harder to recognize,

But once they open their mouths to speak,

You can hear their lies.

 

Though Halloween is a scary time,

Frankly, we have to fear

All of these kooks and zombies and such

Every day of the year.

-by Bob B (10-9-21)

Gaslighting

Gaslighting: creating a false

Narrative in order to make

People question reality--

To change what's true into what's fake.

 

Trump, for example, has perfected

The art of gaslighting to a T

When he wants us to believe

That what's really there is NOT what we see.

 

Take January 6,

The day of the Capitol insurrection,

When thugs violently rejected

The results of the 2020 election.

 

Trump and his supporters are saying,

Oh, it really wasn't that bad.

It was merely some patriots

Expressing themselves because they were mad.

 

Or look at all the lies being spread

That our elections are not reliable.

Faulty machines…election fraud…

All of that is unjustifiable.

 

Gaslighters deny wrongdoing

And love the tactic of shifting the blame.

Immigrants are responsible for

Spreading COVID, gaslighters claim.

 

Lying, distracting: those are their tactics.

Erasing the past is their major goal.

They'll wear us down with their lies and do

Whatever they can to stay in control.

-by Bob B (10-8-21)

Hold on to Democracy*

Oh, can you imagine a thing more bizarre?

Strange things can happen but this is by far

One of the craziest stories I've heard.

Call it outrageous, for that's a good word.

 

The end times are coming and we're on the brink.

That's what some white evangelicals think.

The one who'll be leading us over this hump

Will be none other than Donald J. Trump.

 

Sing too-ra-lie-loo-ra-lie-loo-ra-lie-ay.

 

This crazy idea explains to us why

So many people believe Trump's Big Lie.

His challenge, they feel, is not just a whim:

That the election was stolen from him.

 

Other groups out there have joined in the cause

And bow and kowtow to their Wizard of Oz.

Even the Moonies have entered the fray.

How easy it is to lead people astray!

 

Sing too-ra-lie-loo-ra-lie-loo-ra-lie-ay.

 

Part of their big propaganda machine

Is rhetoric very much anti-vaccine.

Some of the leaders are sounding alarms

To talk devotees into taking up arms.

 

Conspiracy theories continue to weave

Through the ideas that these folks believe.

Yes, they remind us that we have free will;

But far-fetched ideas lead people to kill.

 

Sing too-ra-lie-loo-ra-lie-loo-ra-lie-ay.

 

Some politicians will hold up a gun

And say to us that church and state should be one.

I guess in their readings there's something they missed:

Our Constitution was not on their list.

 

Maybe the end of the world it won't be,

But what is going on gives no comfort to me.

Democracy's fragile; there is no doubt.

And we can't let radical groups wipe it out.

 

Sing too-ra-lie-loo-ra-lie-loo-ra-lie-ay.

-by Bob B (10-7-21)

*This poem can be sung to the melody of "Sweet Betsy from Pike."

Shoo, Fly, Shoo!

So disgusting: A pesky fly

That hangs around as if to say,

"It doesn't matter HOW repulsive

You find me; I am NOT going away."

 

Intruding upon our privacy,

It thinks it's so important, so when

We try to shoo the pest away,

It just comes back again and again.

 

"Get out of our lives!" we want to scream.

"You've been around here FAR too long!"

Then when we think it has disappeared,

We suddenly find that damn! we were wrong.

 

So persistent at being a nuisance,

It doesn't mind being reprimanded.

Just imagine where it has been,

The things it has touched, and where it has landed.

 

"What is its purpose," we ask ourselves,

"Other than to cause distress--

To work its way into our lives

And leave behind a major mess?"

 

It hangs around with similar flies

That seem to have a similar goal:

To leave their disgusting mark on whatever

They touch and try to stay in control.

 

It has no sense of self-awareness,

So how the hell did it EVER get backing?

When it was more prominent, it

Evaded attempts to send it packing.

 

Finally, we thought that we

Had shooed the fly away forever.

But, alas, the pest returned.

Flies are more persistent than clever.

 

How do you rid yourself of a pesky

Fly that refuses to leave the scene?

Acknowledge how big a bother it is,

And then construct a protective screen.

-by Bob B (10-6-21)

Hope for Tomorrow

(This poem can be sung to the melody of "Morning Has Broken" by Cat Stevens and Eleanor Farjeon.)

 

Vaccines are working. Evidence proves that.

Let's not be shirking what must be done.

COVID is killing; look all around us.

If folks are willing, we will have won.

 

If we forsake such efforts to save us,

Our hearts will ache much lest hope survives.

Stalling is fateful; it need not happen.

We should be grateful when we save lives.

 

Life is uncertain. That's true; however,

Don't close the curtain till the show ends.

Mindful endeavors keep us together;

Thoughtlessness severs family and friends.

 

Experts can guide us on this long journey,

Walk alongside us, and give us hope--

Hope that tomorrow will bring an end to

Much of our sorrow. That helps us cope.

 

Vaccines are working. Evidence proves that.

Let's not be shirking what must be done.

COVID is killing; look all around us.

If folks are willing, we will have won.

-by Bob B (10-5-21)

What About "Hang"?

"Hang" and "hang" are two different verbs--

One is strong; the other is weak.

You'll often notice that they are misused

When English speakers write and speak.

STRONG verbs are irregular verbs.

WEAK verbs are regular. So you'll find

That these are just two categories

To which all English verbs are assigned.

 

When we say, "We hung the painting

On the wall," the verb is strong.

But if we say, "They hung the bandit

At dawn," well, that is wrong.

 

"They hanged the bandit at dawn" is correct.

"Hang" there is weak. As you can see,

The past tense form of the weak verb "hang"

Ends in the letters E and D.

 

So does the participle as well:

"The murderous bandit was hanged at dawn."

Of course, the bandit wouldn't care

What verb we used once he was gone.

 

If you say, "The bandit was hung,"

You can say it if you dare,

But that implies something different,

And maybe we shouldn't be going there.

 

If you're unsure about "hung" and "hanged,"

Maybe do a grammar check.

"We hung the ornaments on the tree";

"The violent outlaw was hanged by the neck."

-by Bob B (10-3-21)

"Lie" Versus "Lay"

A lot of English speakers today

Have difficulty with "lie" and "lay."

When we are talking about reclining,

"Lie" is the word that we're defining.

Your English teacher might give you a frown

If you say, "I am going to lay down."

"I'm going to LIE down" is what it should be.

"Lay" requires an object, you see.

Confused, people often ask why

"Lay" has to be the past tense of "lie."

That is partly what makes us confused

And also explains why the words are misused.

"All day last Monday I LAY in my bed."

But people will slip and say "laid" instead.

Remember, the past tense of "lay" is "laid":

"I LAID my coat on the bench in the shade."

Silly example I know; I'm just trying

To make a point. And NO, I'm not lying.

Now when you are using "lying" and "laying,"

The same rules apply. Do you hear what I'm saying?

"She's LYING on top of the quilt right now."

"We're LAYING our coats on the bed." Somehow,

With just a little effort we'll get it,

And it won't confuse you if you don't let it.

-by Bob B (10-1-21)