1
I’m a sentimentalist,
a determined romantic
whose love of Mother Nature
extends to all her Muses.
But my focus gets hijacked
by criminals who threaten
Earth and its inhabitants.
2
I sit here drinking coffee,
trying to avoid the news
about our rogue president
committing our armed forces
to a Mideast holy war.
Meanwhile, strangers much like I
are dodging my country’s bombs.
3
So, Israel called the shots?
Its spy network located
the Iranian leaders,
which triggered the sneak attack.
Trump jumped to do the bidding
of Netanyahu, who now
sets our foreign policy.
4
Assassinating leaders
of a country we don’t like
justifies anyone else
to try the same against us.
If such is in the playbook
of foreign diplomacy,
it is there for all to read.
5
While MAGA damns George Soros,
Netanyahu starts a war,
opening with the war crime
of targeting officials.
He then gulls Trump to follow
with more unprovoked attacks
to multiply the carnage.
6
The most beautiful woman
I’ve ever seen in person
was Persian, Iranian –
not much older than the girls
murdered by state terrorists
who dropped a bomb on their school
without a hint of remorse.
7
Superstitious idiots
have been hoping for this war
since Bush the Younger’s first term.
They pray for Armageddon
as if their ugly blood lust
will not disqualify them
from the ranks of the elect.
8
A 21st century
holy war crusade. How quaint.
With all we could be doing
to improve everyone’s lives,
we choose the old paradigm
that guarantees only death
and endless retribution.
9
We have been phrasing it wrong.
“The right side of history”
should mean to repeat evils
aligning with traditions
to maintain the status quo.
“The wrong side of the future”
claims that change is possible.
10
Our illegal invasion
left Iraq a scarred wasteland,
the chaos overflowing
to wreck Syria as well.
So, now we attack Iran
and promise vast destruction.
No wonder we’re pariahs.
11
While we’re laying waste Iran,
we claim that Iranians
need to be liberated.
So, I guess we’re freeing them
from their electrical grids,
reliable clean water
and feeling safe in their homes.
12
Our armed forces have destroyed
the heart of the Middle East.
That benefits Israel
and Saudi Arabia,
Masters of War and Big Oil.
We’re just along for the ride
toward our own autocracy.
13
Who spreads more terror than we?
We’re blowing up fishing boats;
seizing tankers like pirates;
capturing foreign leaders –
well, the ones that aren’t murdered –
while financing genocide
in Gaza and the West Bank.
14
It’s over-compensating
for draft-dodging cowardice
that makes Citizen Bonespurs
launch wars across the planet.
He thinks that he can cover
that stain on his character
with the blood of brave soldiers.
15
Nice drapes, Mr. President.
But they cannot hide the fact
that Netanyahu dragged you
into a war you can’t win
despite the devastation
and suffering you create.
You’re Netanyahu’s yahoo.
16
Trump promised Big Oil brass
that, if they’d give him money,
he’d provide windfall profits.
He grabs Venezuelan ships
and shuts down the Mideast flow.
That sends oil prices higher –
which we now pay at the pumps.
17
When will Barron Trump enlist
to support his daddy’s wars?
If it is so important,
those who back it should insist
that kinfolk participate
as a symbol of good faith
to the ones risking their lives.
18
When casually counting
our casualties of war,
we must include the victims
of the Austin bar shooting.
They’re collateral damage
to the deaths we inflicted
on innocents in Iran.
19
Meanwhile, back on the home front,
starving kids, blocking voters
and poisoning Mother Earth
rival overt racism
as administration goals.
Making us sicker and poor,
they hope to break our spirit.
20
Pizzagate, a stupid hoax,
served up false accusations.
Yet, those who claimed their concern
for children trafficked for sex
ignore the Trump connections –
the president and his wife –
to their pal Jeffrey Epstein.
21
Goons wearing hoods – black, not white
like the klansmen they mimic –
attack people of color –
and this includes citizens –
on the streets of our nation.
Fascist terror is the goal –
at home as well as abroad.
22
Cowards fled the Capitol
when Trump was first elected.
They feared being primaried
by his loyal fascist core.
Those enabling him today
are full collaborators
who endorse dictatorship.
23
Amid rising fascism,
what can a lone person do?
Speak the truth. Just speak the truth
and take the consequences
with as much grace and courage
as you can muster. You might
inspire better voices.
