Black Sky, Blue Thoughts

Possibly wrongly accused

cop killers Mumia and Leonard,

rot in prison after decades.

Cops who kill unarmed minorities

still patrol and accumulate pensions.

You’re entitled to a lawyer

but money buys freedom.

Front page blaring accusation

eighth-page innocent blurb.

Soldier are heroes one minute,

homeless veterans the next.

The huge taxpayer funded,

billionaire football stadium owners,

laugh at those who footed the bill.

Wall Street earnings rise or fall

over the slightest rumors.

It illustrates how fragile

the Capitalist system is.

The nightly sound of gunfire

has replaced crickets and frogs.

Political candidates give us,

fast talk and promises.

When the shit hits the fan,

when war is at hand,

when racism is fanned,

when mass shootings fill the land,

when books and history are banned,

we find politician man

has no game plan

and offers up,

thoughts and prayers.

Thoughts and prayers will not

stop a war, stop a bullet, stop racism,

stop an overdose, stop a bankruptcy

from medical bills, stop homelessness

pay the rent or feed a family.

Yet, pray we do.

We pray we don’t get laid off

or lose our jobs.

Jobs that don’t even keep up with inflation.

We pray that our children will be safe

and have better lives than us.

Only the rich have time to live,

as, the rest of us are too busy praying.

Complacency has replaced voting.

And the electoral college

has replaced the majority vote.

Many say Agent Orange’s stay

in the White House,

poisoned our lives with hate.

But political hate was apparent when

JFK, RFK, MLK and Malcom X,

were stopped in their tracks.

Hate for political opponents

gave Nixon an enemy’s list.

Hate for working people

showed when Reagan busted unions.

His hate for children was apparent

when he declared ketchup a vegetable.

Profits before people was realized,

when the Supreme Court ruled

that corporations are people.

We have, lots of humans but no humanity.

Lots of Christians but no Christianity.

The biggest thieves don’t use a gun

and there ain’t no referees.

It’s always starkest

before the yawn.

Wham bam, time to wake up man

and upset the establishment apple cart.

I’d like to at least see the seeds

of a better world in my lifetime.

 

“To be wealthy and honored in an unjust society is a disgrace.” —Confucius