Elections of Yore
(to the tune of “Yesterday”)
Yesterday, politics was just a game we’d play
Now hostility is here to stay
Oh, I believe in yesterday
Suddenly, there’s an absence of civility
There’s no common ground that I can see
Oh, yesterday came suddenly
Why we disagree
I don’t know, it’s hard to say
We’re so far apart
Now I long for yesterday
Yesterday, bipartisan was just how we’d play
Now consensus just has gone away
Oh, I believe in yesterday
Why things are so wrong
I don’t know, I’m sad to say
All my hope is gone
My heart longs for yesterday
Yesterday, I looked forward to Election Day
Now the discord takes my joy away
Oh, I believe in yesterday
Bill Archibald
Arlington, Va.
Trump’s Campaign Love Song to America
(to the tune of “America,” from “West Side Story”)
I like to be in America
They’re all for me in America
I’ll keep it free in America
Free like I want it, America.
Political party that obeys
I eject anyone who strays
All of the judges on my side
They’re all along for the great ride.
I like to taunt in America
Grab what I want in America
There are no laws in America
That I need follow, America.
If I screw up it is OK
I’ll change the facts by the next day
And if I’m really defeated
I’ll say the other side cheated.
So vote for me in America
And you will see that America
Will cease to be your America
It will be all my America!
Naomi Pliskow
Philadelphia
Kamala
(to the tune of “Camelot”)
It’s true! It’s true! Democrats make it clear
Kamala is the voters’ choice this year.
A change was made a short two months ago here
President Biden’s polls had turned to rot.
But there’s a pro quite fit to run the show here
She’s Kamala.
Decisions had to happen in a hurry
Endorsement came from Joe right on the dot
Excitement followed with few signs of worry
It’s Kamala.
Kamala! Kamala!
I know it sounds a bit ideal,
But with Kamala, Kamala
That’s how we start to heal.
The race cannot let up until the vote count
Electoral College will not disappear
Our country’s in a knot
They say she’s got a shot
To stop this juggernaut that threatens
Yes, it’s Kamala.
Kamala! Kamala!
I know she gives some people pause
But Kamala, Kamala,
she heeds the legal laws.
The battle must persist into November
Let’s hope we know by midnight on the fifth
Our country’s in a knot
Polls show she’s got a shot
But going back we’re not — that’s not a myth
with Kamala.
Marian Calabro
Hasbrouck Heights, N.J.
The Climate Is a-Changin’
(to the tune of “The Times They Are a-Changin’”)
Come liars, deniers who call it a hoax
And convince us these fires are nothin’ but jokes
When the air that you’re breathing’s like three packs of smokes
Even Fox might admit they were fakin’
Better get a good gas mask if ya don’t wanna choke
’Cause the climate is a-changin’
Come bathers and boaters, ya can’t hold back the sea
It’ll spill in your windows and rise past your knees
Hope ya got a fast speedboat, ’cause you’ll have to flee
When the next hurricane sends the waves in
Buy the best flood insurance and pay all the fees
’Cause the climate is a-changin’
Come leaders, chest-beaters who pander and preen
If money’s the one thing you value that’s green
Then your grandkids will never see skies that are clean
If you don’t think this planet’s worth savin’
We’ll banish your voices from our lives and our screens
’Cause the climate is a-changin’
The glaciers will melt, rainforests will burn
The karmic wheel will finally turn
And the powerful now will later be spurned
’Cause it’s science and truth the world’s cravin’
Don’t say it’s too late to finally learn
That the climate is a-changin’
Alexandra Forbes
Auburn, N.Y.
On This Bench Where I Live
(to the tune of “On the Street Where You Live”)
I have often heard appeals before
And I’ve loved the liberals’ squeals
beneath my feet before
Once again am I, several rulings high,
serving God, from this bench, where I live.
There is righteousness, vested in my gown
And there’s just so many stinking things on which I frown!
Does God’s will outpour, out of every door?
Yes, for sure, on this bench where I live!
And O … that towering feeling,
just knowing the angels are near,
The awfully cocksure smug feeling
that soon my Lord will appear.
Liberals shout and stare, they don’t bother me
They’ll soon see feudal flags we plan to wave with glee.
Let the time pass by
Life terms satisfy
all my needs
on this bench
where I live.
Stephen Dedrick Craig
Charlotte, N.C.
50 Ways to Save Your Mother (Earth)
(to the tune of “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover”)
“The problem is burning too much fuel,” she said to me
“and drilling my hide to death and cutting down my trees”
She said, “Please help me in my struggle just to breathe”
There must be 50 ways to save your Mother
She said, “It’s really not my habit to intrude
But…
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