Returning

To return to the essence of what I was

Before I was: a mystery.

Will knowing who or what I was

Before I was be clear to me?

To speculate on lofty dreams:

Wistful efforts to fantasize

Something that’s unheard by formless

Ears or seen by formless eyes.

Disintegration of ruins show

The odd conception of what became

A vainglorious attempt to have

A monument outlast its name.

Will the name be muffled by

The echoes of a limitless void

When all semblance to what we think

Is real is once and for all destroyed?

Even though impermanence

Governs what we think and feel,

Maybe a deep understanding

Reveals something pure and real--

As real as any bubble that bursts

Or lightning flash from sky to earth.

Must being be purely palpable,

Or does it somehow transcend our birth?

Speculation gives the seeker

Hope--a blissful sanguinity--

While past, present, and future constantly

Merge into infinity?

-by Bob B (7-28-18)

The D.T. Playbook: Ch 4 (Information War)

Manipulating information

To craftily plot your lore

Is necessary if you want

To continue an information war.

Specific example: Deny Russian

Collusion and interference in

U.S. elections, and do not stop

Seeking info that you can spin.

After months of denying Russian

Cyber attacks and election meddling,

Then admit the possibility

Through a little backpedaling.

Say that well…maybe they meddled,

But hastily add: so did others.

Say you'd still end all queries

And probes if you had your druthers.

It's vital, of course, that you keep

Bashing the press. Be sure to accuse

Investigative journalists

Of making up tons of fake news.

Finally, say the Russians will

Interfere in the U.S., and that's

How in elections this November

They plan to help the DEMOCRATS!

Why? Because you're so hard

(Wink!) on Russia. You'll be winning.

Your fawning fans will eat it up,

And you will have all heads spinning.

Your friends on your favorite TV station

Will help you criticize and demean

Those who don't agree with you.
Praise to your propaganda machine!

Who cares what the world thinks?

You've got your fans. You've got your base.

There's no match for a stable genius

Who says to the world, "In your face!"

-by Bob B (7-25-18)

A Willing Exchange

Nondescript, muffled sounds

Can penetrate cement and wood

And dirt, but silence dominates

This dank and dreary neighborhood.

Days are long and nights are frigid

Here where I’ve been laid to rest.

I slumber with my Purple Heart

And other medals across my chest.

How fickle life is! Good intentions

And dreams often come to naught.

Too late we learn the consequences

Of trusting all that we were taught.

Alas, the mighty powers that were

Had in mind a contrary plan.

They sent me off to fight their war

In the mountains of Afghanistan.

“When Johnny Comes Marching Home”: my buddies

And I would sometimes sing that song.

But fate presented a different plan

For my return all along.

I "marched" home, although my marching

Was somewhat a paradox:

I came home covered with medals

And lying in a flag-wrapped box.

Medals! Let the generals keep them. 

If I had a choice, I’d rather be

At home playing with my kids

And caring for my family.

-by Bob B (7-23-18)

Taking a Knee

When the anthem begins and the players

Hear the words "Oh, say can you see…"

Some have chosen not to remain

Standing; instead, they've taken a knee.

Taking a knee to protest injustice,

The players have faced their critics who feel

That when the national anthem is played,

People don't have the right to kneel.

But what about a president

Who criticizes our institutions--

Who calls the press the enemy

And scorns their vigorous contributions?

What about a president

Whose racist ties are loud and glaring--

Whose stance on U.S. asylum laws

Is unequivocally cold and uncaring?

What about a president

Who boldly refuses to take a stand

Against the industries that poison

Our water and threaten to ravage our land?

What about a president

Who throws our allies under the bus

And sidles up to Vladimir Putin

After what Putin has done to us?

What about a president--

A blowhard who has dropped the ball

In dealing with corruption, for his

Admin's the most corrupt of all?

What about a president

Who calls unpatriotic those

Who take a stand--or knee--against

Practices that they oppose?

This from a man whose actions border

The actions of someone strangely psychotic!

Trump has no right to call any

Other American unpatriotic.

-by Bob B (7-21-18)

Advice from Putin

"Donald, you are learning fast.

Let's see what tomorrow brings.

Excuse me for a minute while

I adjust the puppet strings….

"Fooling the public is a must.

Listening to me will ease your fears.

I have been duping people

All over the world for many years.

"You are learning in leaps and bounds.

Sometimes I even think you're smart.

Calling the press the enemy

Is a wonderful way to start.

"Controlling the media is a must.

Your tweets are useful memoranda.

Your Sinclair Group and Fox News

Can help you spread your propaganda.

"It's very important to keep up the lies.

Let your admin team transmit them.

They will ride roughshod over

The people; they won't know what hit them.

"When your attacks on the FBI

And DOJ are intensified,

I can't help admitting that

I get all tingly inside.

"Of course, one thing that makes

It easy for you to break the rules

Is the fact that many of your

Republican members of Congress are fools.

"You also must remember that NATO

Countries are your REAL foes.

When you trash them, I say to myself,

'Donald's hit it on the nose.'

"Oh, about those deals you mentioned...

Well, we can discuss them later.

We appreciate all you're doing

To help us make Russia greater.

"Don't forget: When people mention

Subjects that for you are taboo,

Just stop and ask yourself,

'What would Vladimir Putin do?'"

-by Bob B (7-17-18)

The Death of a Star

(For Shirley, 10-31-1929 to 7-13-2018)

Countless stars light up our lives

And fill our hearts with brightness and splendor.

Sometimes they flash with sparkling brilliance;

Sometimes their rays are gentle and tender.

A star to me was my cousin Shirley,

Whose comforting warmth and radiant glow

Outshone even our glorious sun.

Anybody who knew her would know.

Emitting the light of true compassion,

She never let the darkness prevail

Or woefully impose restrictions

On love impossible to curtail.

And, oh, that love shone on so many.

From a place close by or even from afar,

Shirley's loving-kindness would touch you

As though you'd been touched by the warmth of a star.

But stars do not shine forever.

One sad day their brightness will fade.

Shirley's light was extinguished this week.

Though death is something we cannot evade,

The light of love that Shirley spread

On all who knew her still glows and gleams.

It fills our hearts with goodness and kindness;

It gives us hope; it guides and redeems.

The most spectacular sunrise that ever

Spread across the New Mexican skies

Would still be no match for the beauty of Shirley,

Her smile, or the love that poured from her eyes.

Rest in peace, beautiful cousin.

-by Bob B (7-13-18)

What a Spectacle!

Ladies and gentlemen, here you have

An amazing three-ring circus before you.

You might want to turn your heads.

But keep your focus; we implore you.

Center ring: Peter Strzok--

Top spy finder of the FBI.

On the right: House Republicans.

Their main goal: to mortify.

Ring on the left: Democrats,

Giving Strzok some vital support

While the clowns in the other ring

Make of the show a kangaroo court.

Gowdy--the walking dead of Congress

Who's always eager for moments of glory--

Stirs up disorder and chaos as he

Tries to obscure the REAL story:

The details of what was really behind

Russian meddling in our elections.

Instead, he and the ones on the right

Labor to make foolish connections.

They are determined to prove their point.

Watch them as they grasp at straws

To smear the FBI and show

How it suffers from major flaws.

Gowdy, Gaetz, Jordan, and others--

All on the conspiratorial team--

Are loyal NOT to America but

To themselves and the Trump regime.

Their blatant behavior is the kind

That makes honest truth-seekers seethe.

Their heads are so far up their you-know-whats

It's hard to imagine how they can breathe.

What a show or spectacle--

One that's embarrassing to boot!

One clown makes a fool of himself;

The other clowns will follow suit.

-by Bob B (7-13-18)

July 4, 2018

Picnics, parties, marches, laughter,

Potato salad, apple pie…

Friends and families united

And fireworks lit up the nighttime sky.

Some, however, couldn't partake--

Some with horrific stories to tell,

Who, if they could see the fireworks,

Had to watch them from a cell.

Parents separated from children

Here seeking refuge learned

How the rules of immigration

Can be so quickly overturned.

Some are forced to be deported

To Mexico and beyond--

Forced to leave their kids behind,

Denied due process, denied even bond.

The president and his admin team--

These our heroes! These our champs!--

Propose a plan to reunify

Families in internment camps!

Refuge seekers torn apart

Learned not in a pretty way

How people in America

Honor Independence Day.

If Lady Liberty were able,

She’d lay down her tablet and flame

And raise up her hands in order

To hide her tearful face in shame. 

-by Bob B (7-5-18)

To Russia with Love and Blah Blah Blah

A Republican delegation

From Congress has taken a little trip

To Russia, where the members hope

To strengthen a budding relationship.

But have they asked critical questions

About Crimea--the annexation--

Russia's support for Assad, or even

One human rights violation?

Have they asked about Russian meddling

In our elections? What about

Jailed dissenters, poisonings,

And freedoms that the leaders flout?

What about Russian involvement

In other countries' important elections?

Or did they even think to question

Russian-U.S. financial connections?

Were any of these questions asked?

The answer is no--none of the above.

Their murky mission instead is for them

To go to Russia to…spread their love

Prior to Trump's meeting with Putin--

The secret meeting behind closed doors,

Where the former KGB spy

Will have Trump groveling on all fours.

When there are reasons for cover-ups,

It isn't hard to understand

How out of desperation someone

Could play into another's hand.

Not only are Putin and Donald Trump

Lovingly exchanging rings,

But Putin also has Trump's lackeys

Dangling from his puppet strings.

-by Bob B (7-4-18)

On Showing Sarah the Door

Hey, Sarah Huckabee Sanders,

Now you know how others feel

When they go to a restaurant

And aren't allowed order a meal;

Or when they visit a business from which

They're turned away--for goodness' sake!--

Because the owners flatly refuse

To bake them a wedding cake.

Take a walk in the shoes of others,

Sarah, instead of pontificating

And parroting the president's lies

Without even hesitating.

Unfortunately, you have chosen

To back an agenda, vile and hateful.

You can hardly expect that those

Who suffer from it are going to be grateful.

Displaying a bit of empathy

Would make you sound a little smarter

And more caring, unless you prefer

To play the put-upon victim or martyr.

-by Bob B (6-29-18)

By Doing Things My Way

(To be sung to the melody of Frank Sinatra's "My Way")

Despite all that you hear,

I'm doing great; I'm number one now.

My made-up "truths" endear

Me to my base; we're having fun now.

My ranting and my raving show that mine's not the small fry way.

You'll win…you'll win much more by doing things my way.

I wish the FBI

Would stop investigating.

They know too much. That's why

It is all so aggravating.

I never liked a wuss who would take the humble pie way.

No, I am much more ruthless doing things my way.

I've told some lies, once in a while…

Well, every day, but that's my style.

My Congress boobs have got my back. At the right time we'll attack.

I plot and scheme for my regime by doing things my way.

Putin's my friend, oh,

And Kim Jong Un and I are buddies.

Merkel and Trudeau?

My goodness, they're such fuddy-duddies.

All I have to do is just display my evil eye way,

And I'll get what I want 'cause it is my way.

I am the law; that's plain to see.

And very few are smart like me.

I will say what comes to mind, and I don't care if it's unkind.

A little greed helps you succeed when doing things my way.

Yes, do things my way.

-by Bob B (6-26-18)

The D.T. Playbook: Ch 3 (Immigration)

Start a humanitarian crisis.

Separate families at the border.

Remind people that immigrants

Are very low in the pecking order.

Continue with a counter program.

Keep repeating hundreds of times

How immigrants are dangerous

And also the cause of so many crimes.

Then reverse the order that

Separates the families so

You can pretend you care immensely

(Even though it's just a show).

Blame the Democrats all along

For causing all the injustice and pain.

Say they all want open borders--

That they are the ones who are inhumane.

After bombarding the people with

False "facts" on immigration,

Their tolerance for cruelty

Will grow. The power of demonization!

The frequent use of negative words

Will help to galvanize your base.

Make them insensitive

To basic rights; then play your ace.

Send to the border the First Lady.

Give her a tasteless jacket to wear

So she can add more controversy

And callousness to the whole affair.

Have your conspiracy theory friends

And harpy friend appear on the news

To brainwash viewers so more and more

People will start to share your views.

Encourage your sycophants in Congress

To parrot your buzzwords hour after hour,

And you'll be well along the way

To having what you want: POWER.

-by Bob B (6-24-18)

"I REALLY DON'T CARE, DO U?"

Melania must not care

About the hullabaloo

Over her jacket that said

"I REALLY DON'T CARE, DO U?"

She should know that people

Perchance could misconstrue

Why her jacket says

"I REALLY DON'T CARE, DO U?"

A lack of sensitivity

Of course came shining through

When she chose to wear

"I REALLY DON'T CARE, DO U?"

Going on a mission

Is not the time to debut

A jacket that has the words

"I REALLY DON'T CARE, DO U?"

Her callous motivations

And what she chooses to do

Sound just like her husband's

"I REALLY DON'T CARE, DO U?"

If she married Donald

For money--if that's true—

It's her life, her choice.

"I REALLY DON'T CARE, DO U?"

When he's sent to prison

And she cries out, "Boohoo!"

We’ll say to one another,

"I REALLY DON'T CARE, DO U?"

-by Bob B (6-22-18)

Heart-Wrenching

How much more of this can we take?

How can people stand idly by

While major atrocities are being

Committed and STILL turn a blind eye?

Parents are still being separated

From their children at our border.

The Trump administration is

Ruthlessly carrying out the order.

We hear the children cry for their mami,

Cry for their papi, and what do we do?

We put them in cages and tents, heedless

Of all of the pain they are going through.

Secretary Nielsen has tried

To justify the hardline position,

Blaming the victims and giving excuses

As to the importance of the mission.

White nationalist Stephen

Miller must be jumping for joy

As he achieves his goal: provoking

Anybody he can annoy.

AG Sessions cites the Bible

To find support for his devilish deeds.

At the same time, authorities

Are confiscating rosary beads.

John Kelly is all for it.

He thinks being cruel is fine

When you badly need a deterrent

To keep people from crossing the line.

Spineless Republican members of Congress

Worry about offending Trump's base.

Dragging their feet on the issue, they

Don't care if they're a disgrace.

Meanwhile, the suffering

Continues. Children--traumatized--

Are innocent victims. This is what happens

When human rights are compromised.

-by Bob B (6-19-18)

Four Seniors

Recently, four seniors

Didn't don their caps and gowns

And walk down the aisle as did

Seniors in other cities and towns.

These four seniors' lives were cut short

In the city of Parkland in February.

While their classmates reveled, they

Slept somewhere in a cemetery.

These are just four who have died

In shootings across the country this year.

And though there's been talk of change,

Definite action remains unclear.

Sure, some lawmakers

Have said, "Look! We're getting tough,"

And passed some minor legislation.

But baby steps are NOT enough.

At least more candidates

Now are NOT afraid to say

In campaign ads in many states,

"I'll stand up to the NRA."

Meanwhile the NRA hopes

That memory loss supersedes

People's desire for swift action.

Complacency can grow like weeds.

Remember that we need more

Than just a prayer and a simple "Amen."

We need to unite, to act, to vote.

Never again means never again!

-by Bob B (6-18-18)

Where Are We Now?

Where, pray tell, are we now?

How far have we progressed?

Have we covered our ears so we can't

Hear the cries of the dispossessed?

Have pages been ripped out of history books

So that the people cannot see

The struggles that many undertook

To help to set all people free?

A nation "indivisible,

With liberty and justice for all"

Can benefit at times from a self-

Evaluative overhaul,

Or maybe from a look in the mirror

To see whether the image displayed

Truly represents the picture

Of freedom meant to be conveyed.

Through irreconcilable differences,

Have we now become divorced

From hopeful ideals that early on

The shapers of our nation endorsed?

Are we sincerely looking within

Our hearts to make a "more perfect" nation,

Or are we more consumed with drawing

Attention to the standing ovation?

Are we shutting the door to the soul

Of America and walling out

The power and strength that forms the basis

Of what this country is all about?

Let us not be blindsided

By rogue forces that hope to succeed

In weakening what makes us strong,

Only to relish watching us bleed.

-by Bob B (6-16-18)

Joining the Cult

Senator Bob Corker* refers

To what has become the scary result

Of blind devotion to Donald Trump.

He calls the movement a GOP cult.

It's easy to join the cult if you

Don't mind sacrificing free will.

Getting out of the cult is another

Story; that will take some skill.

Members lose their sense of self

When they join the Cult of Trump.

When Trump says "Bow!" they all bow;

When he says "Jump!" boy they jump!

Cult members in Congress have

Handed legislative power

Over to Trump, their supreme

Leader before whom they cower.

Regarding constitutional

Authority: will it last?

Or will it suffer a slow death

And thus become a thing of the past?

All the Leader has to say

Is "They are wrong and I am right,"

And followers agree en masse.

Not to agree would be impolite.

Effusive praise and allegiance must go

To the Leader who is all-about-me.

He says he knows what's good for you.

Woe to you if you disagree.

It used to be that presidents

Worked for the people, but we have found

That currently with the Cult of Trump,

It's the other way around.

How many more will drink the Kool-Aid?

Who else will fall under Trump's spell?

Remember Jonestown? In the end,

Things did not go very well.

-by Bob B (6-14-18)

*Republican Senator from Tennessee

The Real Enemy

The president tweets once again,

Displaying that urge that he can't suppress.

Furious, he writes that our nation's

Biggest enemy is the press.

Since he prefers his fantasy world,

His total unease with the truth is striking.

A state-run media, like North Korea's,

Would probably be more to his liking.

We watched as Trump met with Kim,

And though he lavished praise nonstop

Upon the leader, the most important

Thing to him was his photo op.

What makes us shine is not the fiction

That Trump and his minions perpetuate.

Instead it's the hard, investigative

Reporting that makes this country great.

If Trump were really seeking the truth,

A little advice couldn't be clearer:

To find the real enemy of the people,

He merely has to look in the mirror.

-by Bob B (6-13-18)

Farewell, Marco Antonio Muñoz

Crossing the Rio Grande in May,

A Honduran man with his wife and his son

Sought asylum, only to find

Their struggles here had barely begun.

Taken to a processing center,

The family learned the disheartening news:

They would have to be separated.

Having no say-so, they couldn't refuse.

Farewell, Marco Antonio Muñoz.

Some say, "We warned you time after time."

You came for help, and look what happened:

Seeking asylum became your crime.

A CBP° spokesman said that Muñoz

Became "combative" and started to yell.

What parent wouldn't in that situation?

Muñoz was moved and locked in a cell.

Authorities checked on Muñoz often

Not expecting what lay in store

For them in the morning, for one of them found

Muñoz lying dead on the floor.

"Self-strangulation and hanging" they say

Were what caused the father's demise.

Would he be holding his son right now

Had conditions been otherwise?

Farewell, Marco Antonio Muñoz.

Some say, "We warned you time after time."

You came for help, and look what happened:

Seeking asylum became your crime.

AG Sessions feels zero tolerance

Will separate the wheat from the chaff--

That Trump believes in the rule of law.

Mr. Sessions, don't make us laugh!

Others have suffered a similar fate

As a result of our cruel demands.

Our leaders will offer their justification,

But they still have blood on their hands.

Farewell, Marco Antonio Muñoz.

Some say, "We warned you time after time."

You came for help, and look what happened:

Seeking asylum became your crime.

-by Bob B (6-12-18)

°Customs and Border Patrol

The Time Is Now!

Where were you when people marched

For rights, for justice, for science, for peace?

Our growing apathy or insouciance

Will only make the tensions increase.

What were you doing when in the distance

Dark clouds were taking form?

Couldn't you see the flashes and hear

The thunder from the approaching storm?

Had you somehow forgotten the great

Importance of reading between the lines?

Had you divested yourself from the need

To pay attention to warning signs?

When ideology becomes

More important than people, we're doomed.

To what degree depends on how much

Propaganda is consumed.

When cancer cells invade the body,

If we hope to stay alive,

We must make the body a place

Where the invader cannot thrive.

Shame on us if we don't act.

Shame on us if we allow

Democracy to crumble around us.

Mobilize! The time is now!

-by Bob B (6-11-18)

Tell Me It Isn't True!

No! Tell me it isn't true!

Tell me that Trump didn't say

That Russia should have been attending

The G7 summit yesterday.

Alas! It's true. We have it on tape--

A message from our commander in chief,

Which caught off guard our loyal allies,

Whose jaws dropped in disbelief.

What a return of investment for Putin,

Who's made no effort to rectify

Conditions that got him ousted from

The summit in the first place! Why

Doesn't Trump understand

How clearly transparent his actions are?

(That's the kind of president

You get when people lower the bar.)

It appears that Putin is dictating

American policy once again.

He loves seeing a rift between

The US and its allies. But then,

Collusion during the presidential

Campaign is one thing. What takes the prize

Is watching Trump collude with Russia

Right before our very eyes!

-by Bob B (6-9-18)