Deadly Distraction

There is not enough room,
To fit in just one Wath,
The number of false things that Trump reports,
About what he can doth,

For example, he cannot execute,
A federal command,
To impose ten years prison on vandals,
Of statues, no matter his orange tan,

He just does not have the authority,
Still, two days after that,
He proclaims that vandalism has stopped,
Funny, but for the fact,

He's president,
Servant to the people,
While they are distracted by this nonsense,
Many doth die from his inaction, still.

Speechless

I may delete this post,
Once I've said what I need,
Just like the president of the U.S.,
Did Sunday with his tweet,

I won't include a video of fans,
Yelling out, 'white power',
But it will stay long enough to live on,
To grow into a bouquet of flowers,

For those who think the same way as I do,
I'll not apologize,
I'll pretend I did not hear what all heard,
'Cause I am just that guy.

Racist and proud,
(Not me, the other dude),
I am rambling because I cannot believe,
The U.S. leader has that attitude.

The Mob That Came After Him

Hal Niedzviecki is back,
After three years hidden,
Denounced for his words in a magazine,
On appropriation,

Says his words were taken out of context,
Then made to sound obscene,
A mob rose up and destroyed a career,
That supported the voice of non-mainstream

But more, still, it is a dangerous slope,
To quash public debate,
Yet, while he was snubbed, the discourse did rage,
Though I did not partake,

I was afraid,
Of entering the fray,
That being said, I wonder whether Hal,
Would still write the same article today.

Why Argue?

It's not just 'bout a noose,
Or when it had been tied,
If the garage was given to Bubba,
Because it was inside,

That it was just one knot of eleven,
Tied in just that manner,
Or who would think it might be the best choice
To employ as a door-closing handle,

Dismiss that out of sixteen, eighty-four,
Only one existed,
Or its history in America,
Just in case you missed it.

All should be moot,
If superseding all,
We hold these truths to be self-evident,
That all people are created equal,

What If Everyone Was Equal in the U.S.?

What if all were equal,
In the United States,
No matter color or yearly income,
So all treatments equate,

Stopped on the street for walking down the street,
Or for driving a car,
Treated like a criminal for no cause,
Given ketamine for acting bizarre,

Tasered despite not resisting arrest,
For doing nothing wrong,
Then asphyxiated until you die,
With no repercussions?

What would that be?
A police state, I'd guess.
Thank God equality doesn't exist,
His blessing continues through all of this.

Where Are the Peaceful Protests?

Are protests violent,
In the U-S of A?
Do the thousands of people in the street,
Want to be seen that way?

Without having the proper statistics,
If such things do exist,
It might be interesting to think of,
The possible motives of politics,

To respond with force to peaceful movements,
Then claim it justified,
Scaring voters who just want to feel safe,
Into voting for lies.

For truth's scary,
For those paid to hide it,
By a system that requires poverty,
Well, I'm not sure the poor want to bide it.

Meet Brandon Saenz

Do you know Brandon Saenz?
He's twenty-six years old,
Wandered into a protest in Dallas,
More curious than bold,

He was walking with the crowd, then he paused,
That is in his own words,
Cops with shields and everything were on guard,
First, a loud noise go boom was all he heard,

Then he had his hand on his gushing eye,
Well, where it used to be,
A crowd tried helping him, the cops said move,
How's that democracy?

I mean, come on,
Free speech is a real thing,
These protests are more protests to protest,
The war the cops have waged on protesting.

Freezing Work Visas

Trump has now put a freeze,
On foreign work visas,
To free up jobs for Americans that,
They already did pass,

Or they ere weren't qualified to do,
Hence, companies looked out,
Now in the name of putting folks to work,
The quality of the output's in doubt,

That's not to say citizens can't train up,
But then, what will happen,
When they want to do work out of country,
But none will let them in?

It's tit for tat,
But I think Trump wants more,
Some countries have thought in the recent past,
That being self-sufficient's good for war.

Just Heard of Diamond and Silk

Diamond and Silk tweeted,
If you've nothing to do,
"Fear is a great way to control people,"
With a video to view,

It includes various experts talking,
How when somebody dies,
That even if the cause was something else,
If you had Covid, then the system lies,

Recording the death as a Covid death,
To somehow control you,
To stifle the economy, as well?
I couldn't quite construe,

But I'm biased,
I'd rather we fixate,
On continuing to minimize deaths,
By still not letting people congregate.

Generation What?

Name this generation?
How about Disenchant?
They will have spent more time with their parents,
Than either one's penchant,

They will be doyens of working from home,
Well, 'working's' relative,
Maybe they should claim Zoomer for themselves,
The smogless air means more of us will live,

Will their awareness of distance name them?
Never to touch again,
Low rates of SARS, the flu and common cold,
The Cleansed generation?

Whatever name,
Let's hope they make things right,
All the good practices they are learning,
They might become generation Delight.

Bubble View

I am in my bubble,
With those I cannot lose,
Our thoughts align, our histories relate,
No challenge to my views,

We live within another bubble, too,
The country guiding us,
Through this pandemic, not to save our lives,
But keep the economy prosperous,

There are other bubbles I'll never know,
Except through news reports,
Horrid scenes seen from every perspective,
Depending on the source,

I am alone,
As is everybody,
Looking out, always, from my own bubble,
Ne'er not seeing things through at least one screen.

Add It To The List

When you cut your finger,
Leaving a bit behind,
It makes you think about the rest of you,
From big toe to your mind,

The smallest spots you would tend to forget,
Like underneath your chin,
Where any form of ailment could arise,
To leave a lot of work for next of kin,

Any joint or valve or system can fail,
They do all of the time,
Forget what you could get, getting too close,
There's the virus of time.

Don't get me wrong,
Wear a mask when you shop,
But just because a new risk surfaces,
Does not mean every other risk just stops.

Covid Manifesto

I'm the SARS2 virus,
Waiting inside your lungs,
Carried off as you're expelling your breath,
To those that you're among,

Joining my friends who were waiting as well,
Some in the same droplet,
Will a nostril be close enough to reach,
Suck us up not knowing you are sick, yet?

Hopefully, enough of us make it there,
To really make a home,
We'll travel new places inside and out,
Life's meaning is to roam,

You're our vessel,
Sorry we cause you stress,
You're existence is not dissimilar,
As we fly through the air, we see your mess.

Keep Hope

Trump appointed Gorsuch,
To U.S. supreme court,
When Anthony Kennedy left the bench,
A long gay rights stalwart,

Then Trump took away transgender healthcare,
What more could you expect?
An obvious swing over to the right,
It's bad news for LGBT prospects,

But, lo and behold, Gorsuch stands up,
With right-wing judge Roberts,
So now gay and transgender employees,
Have protection at work.

Are things better?
You bet your ass they are,
There's still a lot to do for many folks,
But less than than hundreds of years past, by far.

Choices

Remorse reflects choices,
Choices have to be made,
E’er based on insufficient evidence,
No matter the plans laid,

There is always a gut thrown in the mix,
A human condition,
Let the cards lay as they have been put down,
The least of your worry’s their position,

More to the point are the other people,
With decisions to make,
Do yours align and will the consequence,
Improve things, give or take?

That’s all we want,
Utilitarians,
Think of a choice that you have to decide,
Choose the path that’s best for the most humans.

The True Facts

Who cares where it came from?
Well, maybe we should all.
Was it a bat that got too close to us,
Because of urban sprawl,

Or was Covid and engineered virus,
Meant to be weaponized,
Mutated so it will harms enemies,
The mass-produced to be militarized?

In either case we have a big problem,
Really both, in the end,
A species growing too fast for the earth,
Bent on self-destruction.

It makes you think,
How much, then, we should care,
Maybe we should leave that to the people,
Who only want to have peace and clean air.

We're Back, Baby

It is time to relax,
It's all under control,
High fives and hugs spread all over the place,
Let's let the good times roll!

Or is it that we know that if we don't,
There's other aftermaths,
Like the sixteen weeks of CERB running out?
For poverty, as of yet, there's no masks,

So, we try to get back to our normal,
Which is one of many.
Don't think capitalist economy,
Is what we're meant to be.

But I digress,
The point's we're back on track!
We can all return to the ideal life,
We all lived before the SARS 2 attack.

Turning Tables

It's all conspiracy,
Because it is hidden,
Layer on layer of information,
That's the age we live in,

Revealing truth enlarges the onion,
Sinking others deeper,
A pyramid structure turned on its head,
So you have to dig to find the leader,

Still, the will of the people can align,
With the cyclops's greed,
You cannot bring it down any farther,
So find out where it feeds,

Then, keep it full,
Make the captor love you,
Turn your cage into a sanctuary,
Now you're on top, just like you wanted to.

With Generous Support

There's really no telling,
Who is behind it all,
So many players playing with high stakes,
All too massive to fall,

Their intentions so wrapped in more profit,
Direction moves like wind,
No wonder sometimes they happen to do,
Something good for the mass population,

So maybe it doesn't really matter,
Who is sponsoring who,
If your causes has cause to benefit hem,
It will benefit you.

That's how it is.
Now that you know it is,
Do you play the system as it's played you,
Or tear it down for a new existence?

Minneapolis Dream

Disbanding the police?
Why does that not seem real?
Communities taking care of themselves,
Helping their folks to heal?

Instead of the cops coming to her door,
They'll send social workers,
If she is experiencing mental stress?
But how will the social worker shoot her?

My mind is whirling amidst this new news,
Have they thought of white homes?
If someone looks suspicious on the street,
They'll just be free to roam?

Oh, and the fear!
How will that be doled out?
So many questions that just weren't asked,
Before council voted on this, no doubt.

WHO's To Blame?

WHO wasn't on first base,
In this pick-up ball game,
They were shagging balls while some people called,
To end it due to rain,

The irony of mitigation plans,
You can't know if they worked,
We may as well have let people run wild,
WHO is to say it would be that much worse,

Hmm, that is a very intriguing ask,
But thanks to the U.S.,
We've a great example of ignoring,
Until it is a mess.

But then, WHO knows,
Maybe it's all their fault,
Of course, they are the convenient scapegoat,
For those who ran to home, when WHO said halt.

If We Wanted To

Do not look to knowledge,
To know what you should do,
Lots of people have learned all sorts of things,
But will still oppress you,

Not because experience to this point,
Points to what you should do,
Rather, what you want can be supported,
By any historical facts you choose,

Instead look to the person that you are,
Don't ask me who that is,
It's just a hope that if we're all honest,
We'll reach the same thesis,

That there's no truth,
That says to be unfair,
That if we all just simply agreed to,
All living things could just be treated fair.

The Duty Of Leaders

Some people are asking,
How our prime minister,
Can kneel in the middle of a protest,
Against George Floyd's murder,

When he hasn't solved racism right here.
How dare he claim the right?
Before I answer, let me reminisce,
With wisdom of twenty-twenty hindsight,

When a president responded with ire,
To citizen unrest,
With proclamations of indignation,
Spouting force, deadliest.

What if, instead,
He had expressed remorse,
Acknowledged the injustice systemic,
Encouraging all join him on that course?

Next Steps

Things might be calming down,
Is this before the storm?
A standing down of police aggression,
Does not alter the norm,

Somehow demonstration must be second,
To open dialogue,
Put down the tear gas, then hear what is said,
It is not enough to disperse the fog,

The cleared air must be filled with honesty,
Acknowledge what is wrong,
Then back that up with actions that will change,
What first started the throngs,

See, that is all,
Doesn't seem hard, does it?
Of course it requires an acknowledgment,
By millions that racism is systemic.

HBDDT

Happy birthday, Donald,
You're older than I'd guess,
Which is more to do with your odd color,
And rat-nesty tresses,

More to do with your childish reaction,
To life-and-death matters,
A perspective aimed at personal gains,
Despite the millions of lives it shatters,

I feel childish, too, for childish attacks,
Though my words stop right here,
A leader is wise, leads by example,
Which surpasses mere years,

I guess I'm wrong,
You, in fact, look your age,
It's your office your image falls short of,
Disdaining good-will while endorsing rage.

Writing

Don't try to say something,
You'll lose your way for it,
You'd have to know first where you are going,
Which sounds like rhetoric,

But don't go straying without first knowing,
The place whence you did start,
There is no meaning when one's wandering,
Is not chronicled by an assured heart,

Let intention surrender to your feet,
Commenting on the way,
Whether where you stepped is someplace that you,
Would be willing to stay,

If not, move on,
You are not there, quite yet,
You will know when you can stop exploring,
When your journey is all that need be said.

Afterwards

I don't know what to think,
'bout what will happen next,
From what I read written by the experts,
It's anybody's guess,

Will there be an election November?
If yes, then who will win?
A vaccine distributed early next year,
Or forever degrees of quarantine?

Empire implodes after years of decline,
Or back to status quo?
A population drained of energy,
After the to and fro,

With the army,
The greatest on the earth,
No matter the outcome of these strange days,
I hope we're all kinder, for what it's worth.

The Whys

Trump will need many feet,
To stomp out the unrest,
Or play the fastest game of wack-a-mole,
To satisfy his quest,

Of using force to silence citizens,
It's not about riots,
It might be the chance he's been looking for,
To proclaim November's election quits,

He maybe really just shoots from the hip,
With no actual plan,
Some root·in'-toot·in' Buddha Rambo clown,
Emperor of the land.

Or just jealous?
He'd just beaten Covid,
In the headlines after months of tweeting,
Undermined by what Derek Chauvin did.

The Bubble

U.S. anger's rising,
Blowing up on the streets,
Protesting social injustice for blacks,
Defying Trumps' tweets,

Thousands together despite Corona,
This has more importance,
But then, a new spike will arise from this,
Among those with the least life insurance

In a system not engineered to help,
The ones mostly toiling,
At some point all hands will be raised up high,
No, not surrendering,

But in dismay,
For they've had no respite,
Show me another country in the world,
That's facing so much of its people's spite.