Rhode Island has religion too
Our common sense shapes what we do
Youll never get served if youre rude
Or have a lousy attitude
Indiana and Arkansas
Are family states where Ma or Pa
Want neighbors to be just like them
No handsome women or pretty men
Rhode Islands more a people state
The mixing is what makes it great
Freedom to live and love and play
No matter what the scriptures say
“One Bad apple” is what they say
Explaining when cops go astray
But now a better line might be
“Be careful where you plant the tree”
Like many men who join the force
They choose a military course
Of war beneath the desert sun
Before they earn a policeman’s gun
Most cops are filled with civic pride
But some have demons deep inside
Grim flashbacks to hostile faces
Battle scars from foreign places
Soldiers learn how to determine
Sunni’s from Shiites by their skin
But once back home they’re not allowed
To profile faces in a crowd
America, land of the free
Is filled with ambiguity
Let’s make sure racial killing stops
Our veterans should not be cops
November 9th, Twenty-Sixteen
Words crawl across my TV screen:
GOP WINS THE WHITE HOUSE BACK
My chest felt like a heart attack
I called my friends so we could grieve
Some were packing, ready to leave
Others asked me, “How could we lose?”
Still others drowned their tears in booze
The only hope we could embrace
Lay with the House and Senate race
But red states were on a roll
Republicans took full control
The first sign things weren’t like before
My doc moved to a Walmart store
ObamaCare – too socialized
So now all healthcare’s privatized
Keystone pipeline that wasn’t built
Assured us that no oil was spilt
Now crude is pumped in each time zone
With fracking sites in Yellowstone
Small business climbed out of its rut
Now that minimum wage got cut
The Equal Pay for Women Act?
Big biz made sure it wasn’t backed
Immigration is finally fixed
Thanks to a border wall of bricks
Built by any Mexican who
Gets an ID number tattoo
Guns and books are now the rule
Arming teachers in every school
Bus drivers too, and postal clerks
Ready for whatever danger lurks
America gets even worse
Lucky for you I’m out of verse
Suffice to say if this comes true
The April Fools are me and you
Christmas in the Ocean State
Big Blue Bug blinks big red nose
Off-key carols by Cardi brothers
River burns and saxophone blows
As snow-flakes fill Rhode Island skies
Forgiveness swells inside of us
Except for all those politicians
Who threw us under the RIPTA bus
But hope is what this season brings
That once again our littlest state
Can embolden our diversity
And show the world that small is great.
c2014pn
]]>Water-boarding, dehydration,
Thumb-screws and sleep deprivation
Torture’s a barbaric crime
That needs to end in our lifetime
Now there’s an opposition cry
From a group who’d rather die
Than lose their right to suffer pain
A protest that sounds so insane
But these aren’t sadomasochists
Or even radical anarchists
They’re people we see everyday
Suffering is the price they pay
Pointed shoes give toes a squeeze
Sending shocks up to the knees
Heels and ankles rest on spikes
To get that look a woman likes
Torture’s walking in high heels
In silk or suede or hand-stitched eels
Lessons learned from such harsh duty?
Pain is truth, and truth is beauty
Snowflakes kiss our smiling faces
Chopping wood for fireplaces
Because we know snow will deceive
A welcomed guest that just won’t leave
Wind-blown flurries accumulate
Roads whiten at a rapid rate
Cars collide on spinning tires
Bitter cold snaps brittle wires
Blizzard-whistling through the night
Crackling flames our only light
We pray the storm will finally end
Farewell to a foul-weather friend
c2013pn
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