They've Sent in the Clowns

Gosar, Greene, Gaetz, and Boebert°

With their painted smiles and frowns,

Represent--along with some others--

Our present-day congressional clowns.

 

They have no interest in legislating.

Obstructionism is what they embrace.

They thrive on phony culture wars

To raise money and rile up their base.

 

To QAnon, M.T. Greene

Has apparently sworn an oath.

To believe that nonsense, one has to be

Stupid, not all there, or both.

 

Obstructionist par excellence,

Matthew Gaetz joins the whiners.

Yes, he's the one who's been

Accused of having sex with minors.

 

Anti-Muslim hatred is what

Lauren Boebert loves to spew.

She thinks carrying a weapon in Congress

Is the appropriate thing to do.

 

Paul Gosar, whose siblings can't

Even stand him, thinks it's cool

To spread Trump's big election lie.

It's hard to find a bigger fool.

 

And don't forget his violent posts.

He claims that they are merely jokes

And laughs them off, heedless of

The fires of violence that he stokes.

 

These four clowns, unfortunately,

Are dangerous and not at all funny.

It's difficult to understand

How anyone could give them money.

 

If there were a big top out there,

I would say, "Save a space for them."

Since they are not suited for Congress,

A circus would be a better place for them.

-by Bob B (12-8-21)

°Representatives Paul Gosar (AZ), Marjorie Taylor Greene (GA), Matt Gaetz (FL), Lauren Boebert (CO)

Worst NIghtmare

Tell me: What is your worst nightmare

If you’re a parent? I bet I know.

It's something that parents didn't have to

Worry about years ago.

 

You send your child to school and say,

"See you this afternoon," and then

A mass shooting occurs, and you NEVER

See your child alive again.

 

THAT's a parent's worst nightmare,

Which happens here in the United States

More often than anywhere else,

For the gun lobby dominates.

 

If your children are safe and sound,

Count your blessings, and while you do,

Weep for ALL the parents out there

Who haven't been as lucky as you.

 

In all the world, it's only here

That gun extremists are in control.

How many more of our kids will die

Before the fanatics achieve their goal?

 

So what will you do to stop the madness?

Sit on your hands and let it continue?

Or will you ACT to finally end

This nightmare? Do you have it within you?

 

We shouldn't have to live like this.

People are being murdered while we

Let the killings continue by

Responding with our apathy.

-by Bob B (12-4-21)

Update on Santa (Arctic Poem Part IV)

We know that Santa has been distraught.

For years he's watched as the climate has changed.

People who say that it's not a problem

Are, in his words, slightly deranged.

 

Now he has an additional worry:

The worldwide spread of COVID-19.

He says that people who lie to the public

About the virus are downright obscene.

 

"It makes no sense," he said with a sigh,

"NOT to be more realistic

About acknowledging what works.

The answer is relatively simplistic.

 

"Mask-wearing happens to be

A proven means to keep us from harm.

The vaccine's metaphorically

And literally a shot in the arm.

 

"The elves and Mrs. Claus and I

Have gotten our COVID boosters, and so

While conditions were bad last year,

This year I've been raring to go.

 

"But now there's yet ANOTHER variant.

Omicron they call it, and I

Fear that as the virus spreads,

More people are going to die.

 

"It really hurts me when politicians--

Who ought to be talking more about giving--

Say instead that there are some

Things that are more important than living!"

 

Wiping a tear from his eye, he added,

"You know, something is truly amiss

When people embrace false information.

Ignorance isn't always bliss.

 

"For a better, more compassionate world,

And especially for the sake of our youth,

My wish is that more and more

People will take stock in the truth."

 

He paused for a moment, then he asked,

"Do you think it would be too shocking

If I placed a COVID test

In everybody's Christmas stocking?"

 

He stood there quietly, deep in thought.

I said good-bye and took my leave.

Hmmm. I wonder what ol' Santa

Has in mind for Christmas Eve.

-by Bob B (12-3-21)

Glorious California!

Breathtaking coastlines, towering pines,

Hills and valleys with grapes on vines

From which we produce our exquisite wines…

Glorious California!

 

Majestic forests, volcanic peaks,

Beachside towns with their quaint boutiques,

Silicon Valley and its techno-geeks…

Glorious California!

 

Golden hills with their sprawling oaks,

Expansive fields of artichokes…

There's magic that your name invokes.

Glorious California!

 

Miles and miles of fine desert sand,

Sometimes a language we don't understand,

But that helps to make this state so grand…

Glorious California!

 

Poppy-lined roads, gardens and flowers,

Varied landscapes as you drive for hours,

Yosemite's grandeur after spring showers…

Glorious California!

 

I have been elsewhere

And seen wondrous places--

Mountainous regions

And vast open spaces.

But when I'm away,

I find that I yearn

For home and can't wait

Until I return.

 

Though crowded at times and in traffic we wait,

No place is perfect; still you're first-rate.

So much beauty in this golden state!

Glorious California!

 

Some say your taxes are far too high,

Affordable housing's in short supply,

But I plan to stay here until I die.

Glorious California!

-by Bob B (11-29-21)

The Thanksgiving Blues

I ran into Tom Turkey today;

It's been a couple of years.

We sat in a local bar together

And drank a couple of beers.

 

"Tom," I said, "I know quite well

That life has its bumps,

But often when I run into you,

You're feeling down in the dumps.

 

"Last Thanksgiving had to be

A difficult one for you,

But what is happening this year

That's making you feel so blue?"

 

"Well," he replied, "you know the day

Is always bittersweet:

It's nice to see people celebrate

But sad to be the meat.

 

"COVID put a real damper

On last year's merrymaking.

I thought things would improve by now,

But my heart's still breaking.

 

"Hospitals are under siege.

Cases again are spiking.

In ONE state* 68 percent!

That's not to my liking.

 

"Unnecessarily,

Many people are dying.

And some people who downplay the virus

Resort to unscrupulous lying.

 

"It makes no sense whatsoever

When we have the means

To put an end to this horrible scourge

Through safe and effective vaccines.

 

"Almost as many people are losing

Their lives to COVID today

As LAST year before the COVID

Vaccine came into play.

 

"Certain counties where vaccination

Rates are super low

Want to send patients to other counties.

To me that's malapropos."

 

"Tom, I feel your pain," I said.

"I'm amazed as well.

Conspiracy theories and misinformation

Sometimes are hard to dispel.

 

"Let's hope that more unvaccinated

People will see the light

And work to get this virus under

Control by doing what's right."

 

"AMEN!" he said, and waddled

Out to catch his cab,

While giving me a cursory wave

And leaving me with the tab.

-by Bob B (11-24-21)

*In Michigan

BREAKING NEWS: Big Bird* Upsets Cruz

Senator Ted Cruz of Texas

Has a gripe with Big Bird now.

Big Bird mentioned his vaccination,

And Ted Cruz had a cow.

 

That is government propaganda,

Cruz declared, as if on cue.

But vaccinations have been a theme

With Big Bird since 1972.

 

Big Bird feels that public health

And safety are an important aim.

It's sad but also not a surprise

That Cruz doesn't feel the same.

 

Perhaps Big Bird should talk about

The issue of massive voter fraud

Or giving tax breaks to the rich--

A couple of topics that Cruz would laud.

 

Or maybe Cruz would much prefer

That Big Bird go in a different direction

And tout the January 6

U.S. Capitol insurrection.

 

Ted Cruz is totally

Obsessed with things that he abhors.

Instead of working to help the people,

He's too caught up in his culture wars.

-by Bob B (11-9-21)

*Big Bird is a larger-than-human puppet on the children's TV program "Sesame Street."