Mark Zuckerberg’s baby is growing up

Mark Zuckerberg is getting old.
There’re gray streaks in his hair.
This week his little baby turned fifteen.
His pride and joy (although still young)
is part of all our lives.
It’s everywhere! At least that’s how it seems.

Yes, Facebook’s reached that awkward age
of adolescent change.
There’s growth spurts, hormones and those nasty zits.
Somedays it seems it’s quite mature
and other days… “Oh my!”
It has been known to have some hissy fits.

Like other teens we’ve learned to love,
Mark’s brain child has some quirks.
We’d all do well to give it time and space.
It’s still a kid in many ways
with growing up to do.
Me thinks it is entitled to some grace.

What is Howard Schultz thinking?

The Starbucks king has venti dreams.
I think he’s “full of beans.”
He’s testing out a presidential run.
Yes Howard Schultz has made it known
he’d like a house that’s white.
It seems his campaign has almost begun.

His caffeinated goals are strong.
He’s not your average Joe.
This independent thinks that he can win.
Gen Xers like the way he brews.
We Boomers aren’t so sure.
And late-night comics roast his edgy blend.

It’s just too soon for campaigning.
I’m weary of it all.
I wish we took our cues from Canada.
Why not two months of talking heads
before we cast our vote,
instead of all the hype and lah-di-da?

The book that became a movie (eighty years later)

In the library of our culture
a volume’s been withdrawn.
It’s a green book that was checked out far too much.
Why it wasn’t banned’s a mystery.
This non-fiction’s history.
It was bound to be a racist person’s crutch.

Now the Green Book is a movie.
It’s a film you ought to see.
In black and white we’re shown as in a mirror.
Some will blush with bright red faces
while still others will feel blue
for the ugliness of prejudice is clear.

Longing for Martin Luther King’s influence

Where are you when we need you?
Dr. King, why aren’t you here?
The dream you had is far from realized.
We still prejudge each other.
Black lives matter less than most.
And we still believe our culture’s racist lies.

Although we aren’t a monarchy,
our country needs a King
to voice the values Jesus taught as right.
To love our neighbor as ourselves.
To serve the lost and least.
To turn a cheek when others choose to fight.

Just how much we need you Martin
is quite obvious it seems.
Your quest for civil rights has stalled again.
We could use a prophet-preacher
to confront our nation’s pride
and invoke a holy God to judge our sin.

A message to President Trump

Please don’t hold your workers hostage.
Mr. Trump, they work for you.
And to live from day to day they need their pay.
Don’t deprive their spouse and children
from the basics they deserve.
You’re behaving like a brute to get your way.

You are like a playground bully
when you make unfair demands.
It ain’t right when you insist we play your game.
While a wall may have some merit,
what we need far more is trust.
Mr. Trump, make building trust your foremost aim.