January, 2020

1/1/20
(385)
May your dreams make it over the hump,
And your path be without halt or bump.
May joy be instilled,
And your year be filled
With things that do not rhyme with “rump”.

1/2/20
(384)
Even tho on the job they were pleasin’
Trump’s workers got canned for a reason.
Tho’ undocumented,
The Donald relented
‘Til after the harvesting season.

1/3/20
(383)
This drone attack – a tactic, or a whim
Deserved response or mindless escalation
And in what form will come retaliation
Upon the heads of those who martyred him.

Trump’s words were few, a playground bully’s taunt,
As clear as an articulate explosion.
His switches thrown to further the erosion
To end or start – what does our leader want.

Two presidents before him chose to pause.
They didn’t call for an official hit.
But Suleimani didn’t shy from it
His resume provided ample cause.

So much for New Year peace and mending fences.
Now comes the calendar of consequences.

1/4/20
(382)
The fires we’ve seen
The fires still yet to come
The fires right now

1/5/20
(381)
Iranian tempers on boil
Troops flying to Middle East soil
Assassination
Brings retaliation
Someone tell me this ain’t about oil.

1/6/20
(380)
And after Trump’s Baghdad attack,
More threats to Iran and Iraq.
His petulant rage
On the global stage
Is daring them both to push back.

1/7/20
(379)
For revenge some Iranians thirst,
With Americans fearing the worst.
Tho folks may admit
Of the targets to hit,
Perhaps Mar a Lago comes first.

1/8/20
(378)
Intelligence, we’re told, sketchy at best
Perhaps there was no imminent attack
But now we see Iran is striking back
And foreign policy by Trump is put to test.

Retaliation talk was met by threat
To target life and culture as they knew it
And could he be just nuts enough to do it.
Iran displays the guts to take the bet.

Oil. Greed. Abuse of power. Rage.
The politics of threat. The thrill to war.
Reveal the splintered rotting at the core
Of where we stand upon the global stage.

And still all those equipped to make it stop
Enabling the madman at the top.

1/9/20
(377)
A president who we all know
Made our lives a Reality Show
Each day a new crisis
Climate, trade wars (stacking the courts, putting children in cages, obstructing of justice, spreading lies, polarizing the citizenry, attacking the media, promoting his own interests, pedaling influence, cozying up to dictators, selling off our natural resources, trashing the EPA, alienating our allies, sending dog whistle cues to the radical right, pandering to evangelicals who are convinced that he’ll bring about the second coming) and ISIS…
Oh Christ, how I wish he’d just go.

1/10/20
(376)
From Iran, a few missiles were sent.
A plane is down “by accident”
Some folks have the notion
This was set in motion
By the actions of our president.

1/11/20
(375)
Each death a ripple matrix of a loss
Each hole at depth beyond our understanding
So little time to fight to remain standing
When it’s your turn to give the dice a toss

Presented as a number or statistic
A singular and abstract distillation
Whitewashing every heart’s own devastation
Emotion unexpressed in things linguistic

So vital, then so suddenly departed
With those remaining left to contemplate
The nexus of a single tragic fate
But wait – t’was only yesterday we started.

Daughter, sister, partner, lover, friend
In absence still, these roles, they shall not end.

1/12/20
(374)
At an Ohio rally, this time
Trump said Dems just want chaos and crime –
They’re “vicious and horrible”.
This man is incorrigible!
His lies leave a trail of slime.

1/13/20
(373)
Our politics are a fat mess
Each who serves has a thing to confess.
We’ve soaked in regressive.
What’s wrong with “progressive”?
In the word itself you find PROGRESS.

1/14/20
(372)
Journalism’s a challenging chore
So many newspapers cry poor
But I’d rather have read
About what’s done or said
Than the gossip about what was wore.

1/15/20
(371)
The Bernie and Liz rift begins.
The Corporate Dem camp just grins.
Spreading lies, sowing doubt,
Let the Left duke it out
While Donnie, without effort, wins.

1/16/20
(370)

Yes, Virginia,

What a day.

You’ve ratified

The E.R.A.

1/17/20
(369)
With Dershowitz now on the case
Trump’s Dreamteam Defense is in place!
He helped OJ skate!
Thought Epstein was great!
For defending the guilty, he’s ace!

1/18/20
(368)
Happy Birthday to Michelle Obama
From Donald, in her honor, a surprise!
A banquet full of pizza, burgers, fries
A little taste of schoolyard luncheon drama.

We’ll fill those kids with sugar, starch and grease.
Good health is such a Socialistic plot.
Fresh fruits and veggies just sit there and rot.
Let grades go down and average weight increase.

Roll back that woman’s call for healthy meals,
Walk back from dated concepts like nutrition
Poor kids, again, assuming the position
To pave the way for fast food outlet deals.

Such tasty food Sir. May I have more please?
More diabetes and more heart disease.

1/19/20
(367)
Our economy’s one to adore,
Cancer deaths down, and Blacks earning more.
Our trade balance sings.
How many more things
Does Donald Trump take credit for.

1/20/20
(366)
His message fell deaf upon fools
He was slain by establishment tools
Celebrate on this day
As his dream fades away
While his name still adorns streets and schools.

1/21/20
(365)
Impeachment? Who’s in – Yes or No.
Most have had quite enough of this show.
It smells like manure
But one thing’s for sure –
There’s 3 – 6 – 5 days left to go!

1/22/20
(364)
So many words we find to rhyme with Mitch,
Sometimes we get distracted by the game
Of making clever put-downs with his name.
But focus on the goal – to make the switch

And toss him on his ass come voting day.
To suit his party’s goals he twists the rules
Then gleeful, plays the Democrats for fools
Enough of this. Let’s send him on his way.

His loyalty is only to the wealthy
While stacking courts with dim, regressive judges.
And in his Holy Quest, he never budges
To keep Kentucky dumb, poor and unhealthy.

It’s time to dump this chicken-necked disaster,
And un-employ the Senate’s sham ringmaster.

1/23/20
(363)
The Dems offer up each demand.
Witnesses they’d call to the stand,
Documents by the ream
Of Trump’s corrupt scheme,
All they get tho, is “talk to the hand”.

1/24/20
(362)
Is there really any doubt about the facts.
Could one say true he’d not do such a thing.
Does it not count, this evidence we bring.
He lies, then moves to cover up his tracks.

Coercion, pow’r abuses and obstruction
But “in his mind, the man did nothing wrong”,
Sings Lindsay Graham in a fawning song
Preparing for his Hall of Shame induction.

Republicans say they’ve heard nothing new
But if it’s new, they’ve turned a deafened ear
New evidence, says Mitch, ain’t welcome here.
What is our sad Democracy to do.

We see beneath this partisan hysteria –
Trump only loves the ME that’s in aMErica.

1/25/20
(361)
Someone at the meeting was wired
When Trump made clear what he desired.
He was heard without doubt
Saying just, “take her out”.
Some believe that he only meant “fired”.

1/26/20
(360)
Impropriety? There was no appearance.
Trump followed strict ethics adherence.
No hold-back of aid,
No quid pro quo trade,
Just Dems’ election interference.

1/27/20
(359)
precious bird in flight
shrouded in great grey danger
heartbreak so quickly

1/28/20
(358)
This life of ours, more fragile than papyrus,
Too late when seen how fiercely took for granted,
With such concern for where and how we’re slanted,
Does not concern Wuhan Corona Virus.

Would aliens upon our world admire us
Or aim to move us past our barbarism
Would we slay them before we’d heal our schism
And what about Wuhan Corona Virus.

Infectious as a song by Miley Cyrus
A cobra-centered matrix flying wide
And why are Donald’s tariffs not applied
To cash in on Wuhan Corona Virus

No game. No PacMan, Donkey Kong, or Gyruss.
No vaccine for Wuhan Corona Virus.

1/29/20
(357)
Oh Mitch, I’m so sad. What a shock
That you may lack enough votes to block
Bolton testimony
Which may have a key.
We don’t like him, but let the man talk.

1/30/20
(356)
The will of the people be damned
Who cares if they’re all getting scammed.
The defense can rest
For I know what’s best.
Four more years down your throat I get jammed.

1/31/20
(355)
Liz Warren showed some guts to ask
When she took Justice Roberts to task –
Does a witness-less trial
Make our system look vile?
What feelings did his grimace mask.