By: Cedric McClester

The rich are ensconced
In mansions and in suites
Lying underneath their
Silk and satin sheets
While poor people
Are sleeping on our streets
Across the nation
This sad scene repeats

Massive tax cuts for
The rich and greedy
Very little for
The poor and needy
Get the picture?
It’s projected in 3-D
And this is not
Another case of poor me

I don’t know
Maybe, you’re unaware
That those in dire need
Of medical care
Who just happen to be
From elsewhere
Have been given
One hell of a scare

They’ve been told
They have to get out quick
In spite of the fact
They’re deathly sick
Whoever gave that order
Is a ****
Or one who lacks empathy,
Take your pick







Cedric McClester, Copyright © 2019.  All rights reserved.

By; Cedric McClester

There goes another missle
In the North Korean sky
Which he  dismisses summarily
But he hasn’t told us why
All we hear from him
Is how much he loves the guy
The fact he is being played
Is something that he’ll deny

He talks about the nice letters
That his lover writes
‘Cuz he knows how to bait the hook
And also what excites
A dotard like his lover
Whom he envisions in tights
While he luls him to sleep
On those restless nights

South Korea and Japan
Understandably have concern
Because they know that the doltard
Is the type that will not learn
His hand is on a hot stove
But they'll probably get  burned
Once his lover reveals himself
And the table has finally turned

He hasn’t gone ballistic
As far as the doltard knows
But that’s not necessarily
What our intelligence shows
But he regularly ignores them
So we’ll have to take the blow
Perhaps he could think more clearly
Without ******* up his nose




                      Cedric McClester, Copyright © 2019.  All rights reserved.

By: Cedric McClester

Yes, it's Cecil lying here
But is he really dead?
His outter shell is in repose
His soul light years ahead
Everyone must go one day
To the other side
And life for Cecil always was
A very bumpy ride

But he was only human
And he made a few mistakes
The lesson that we learn in life
Requires what it takes
Cecil learned his lesson well
And tried to make amends
Repenting to God above
For his many sins

So don't be quick to judge him
For none are qualified
And don't say if it weren't for this
he might not have died
But take comfort in knowing
As strange as it may seem
Sometimes it takes suffering,
For us to be redeemed




Cedric McClester, Copyright (c) 2019.  All rights reserved.

By: Cedric McClester

Do we really want
Four more years,
Of carnage and tears,
Of uncertainty and fears?
Or should we switch gears
And leave behind the smears
And those rally cheers
That just hurt our ears

He's the Chosen One
Some call him God's son
But what has he done
To prevent a gun
From killing someone
Yet he having fun
And still wants to run
Wish it was a pun

Words I won't mince
'Cuz he makes no sense
So I can't continence
And thus I say hence
I'd give half a pence
Or pay whatever the expense
To discover what's in the rinse
Behind his picket fence

Four more years
Just wouldn't be cool
Under his autocratic rule
I'd have to be your average fool
To vote for someone that vain and cruel
And I refuse to be used as a foot stool
Or swim inside his contaminated pool
When nothing about him makes me drool











CedricMcClester, Copyright (c) 2019.  All rights reserved.

The question is
Should I do it?
Though a voice in my head asks,
“Why put yourself through it?”
I can’t fight the feeling
That I already blew it
But something’s urging me
To say aw ***** it

I’ve been tempted
To give you a call
Because talking to you
Beats not talking at all
But I’m afraid of you
Making me feel small
I’ve gotten back up
But I’m about to fall

The fact of the matter
That can’t be denied
Is I don’t wanna do nothing
That will hurt my pride
So here’s the dilemma
That I must decide
Should I let my conscience,
Be my guide?

It’s like a Rubic Cube
Hard to figure out
So even though I’m tempted
I still have some doubt
Cuz’ it could be as painful
As a case of gout
Which makes me wanna holler
Makes me wanna shout









CedricMcClester, Copyright (c) 2019. All rights reserved.

By: Cedric McClester

Let's label him a hypocrite
See his forebears were poor as ****
That's what I.find so hard to get
Cuz' it's perverse you must admit
He only wants those not in need
To come to America to succeed
He's fully prepared to watch others bleed
Rather than to allow them to be freed

He's the acting czar of immigrants
Who Trump installed to not relent
He in fact, seems quite hellbent
To give them all a great big hint
We're not the nation that they thought
Or the myth they might have bought
They can cross our border
Just don't get caught

He climbed the ladder of success
And has achieved it nonetheless
As an acolyte if I had to guess
Or a sychophant at his very best
He came inside then closed the door
On others who also want more
It's clear he's rotten to the core
Is it necessary for me to say more?

He echoes Trump's callousness
Like a doppelganger, but nonetheless
I guess you could call him one hot mess
Because obviously it's no contest
He'll continue to give 'em hell
It's clear to me he doesn't mean them well
See he's not a man he's just a shell
And the whole wide-world can tell








Cedric McClester, Copyright (c) 2019.  Aii rights reserved.

By: Cedric McClester

Four hundred years
Of blood. sweat, and  tears
And despite our fears
It often appears
Very strange
How little has changed
As if prearranged
We’re still estranged

As time has elapsed
Our hopes have collapsed
We’re caught in the traps
Set by others perhaps
But still we endure
As we did before
And desire more
That is for sure

Though the picture is bleak
We are not weak
We’ll continue to speak
About what we seek
Those inalienable rights
Despite our plights
Are still in our sights
They’re not just for whites

A salient fact is
We’re not going back
We have the knack
To get what we lack
So here’s my confession
Despite your aggression
Here is the lesson
We’ve been your blessing





Cedric McClester, Copyright © 2019.  All rights reserved.

By: Cedric McClester

They don’t want
The tired or poor
Seeking refuge
At our door
The ones we welcomed
Once before
Are not welcomed
Anymore

White supremacy
Has to be advanced
So It’s not about
People’s circumstance
The reason they
Don’t want ‘em in
Is the color
Of their skin

Everything else is
Just an excuse
So folks will ask,
“Hey, what’s the use?”
Instead of being judged
By what they produce
Let’s call it what it is
Immigrant abuse

They’re changing our motto
And our creed
To ignore the ones
Most in need
Our soul will be damaged
If they succeed
And all of us
Would do well to pay heed







Cedric McClester, Copyright © 2019.  All rights reserved.

By: Cedric McClester

The President said
That he re-tweeted
A conspiracy theory
That has been repeated
In right wing media outlets
Of his own choice
So he continues to give
The ridiculous voice

The President hides
Behind the fact
He wasn't the originator
Which shows he lacks tact
To repeat what he knows
Will make someone act
In a dangerous fashion
Against brown or black

In a convoluted way
He might well figure
That it's perfectly alright
If' he doesn't pull the trigger
In fact he'll absolve himself
With a familiar kind of rigor
Which makes him look small
Instead of much bigger

Immigrants rounded up
In whole sale fashion
Is clearly designed
To produce a reaction
See, he's trying his best
To reduce the attraction
That America has
Down to a fraction







Cedric McClester, Copyright (c) 2019.  All rights reserved.

By: Cedric McClester

We're either a nation of cowards
Or a nation of fools
When our kids shelter in place
Inside of their schools
And our president breaks
All of the rules
And locks children in cages
Which proves that he's cruel

We're either a nation of cowards
Or a nation of fools
When criminals are pardoned
As part of the tools
That the president uses
To protect his footstools
Which he bandies about
Like they were precious jewels

We're either a nation of cowards
Or a nation of fools
Who proceed blindly
Like a wagon train of mules
Who are being driven
By an assortment of ghouls
Who push our buttons
And change our molecules

We're either a nation of cowards
Or a nation of fools
Who resist climate change
And biofuels
Those who mention them
He simply overrules
With little resistance
From those he ridicules





Cedric McClester, Copyright (c) 2019.  All rights reserved.

By: Cedric McClester

What’s the fuss?
I hear their guns bust
And they’re killin’ us
So where’s the trust
I can see the hate
But he doesn’t relate
Instead, he calculates
Then seals our fate

Is our level of self-hatred
So deep
That our petty animosities
Won’t keep
And we don’t stop to look
Before we leap
Until predictably our blood
Starts to seep

Is anybody  out there
Listenin’ to me?
It’s a strange kinda
Pathology
That we so
Commonly see
And it doesn’t
Have to be

What’s wrong with us?
It’s hard to say
But it’s been documented
Anyway
If tomorrow is to be
A brighter day
Then it’s up to us to lead the way



Cedric McClester, Copyright (c) 2019.  All rights reserved.

By: Cedric McClester

This is why they say,
“Ignorance is bliss”
In case you haven’t heard
Get a load of this,
The shooter in El Paso
Wanted Hispanics dissed
For invading Texas
But I don’t get his gist

Texas was stolen from Mexico
Way back in the day
So it is pure hubris
Now to hear him say
Hispanics are invading
They’re getting in the way
When it belonged to them
Just the other day

Those who don’t know history
Are just doomed to repeat it
When they develop hatred
That’s misguided and deep seated
And so we must confront it
Wherever and whenever we meet it
Until we understand this
How can we defeat it?

How does it develop,
In someone who’s so young?
Doesn’t it make you wonder
Where it’s coming from?
Is it being stirred up
By what Donald Trump has done?
He wants to stay in office,
But what a way to run!















Cedric McClester, Copyright © 2019.  All rights reserved.

By: Cedric McClester

Those who hate
Will no doubt relate
For massive harm
Make a bomb
In the kitchen of your mom
Before you explode it
Be sure to lock and load it
So you won't implode it

At your leader’s insistence
It’s leaderless resistance
Don’t ask for their assistance
Before your nonexistence
Just go out and do it
Put total strangers through it
The consequences, ***** it
Besides, you already knew it

Clearly be aware
Of the dog-whistles you hear
There’s no need for you to fear
So get your *** in gear
Without the least abatement
Go out and make your statement
Show the world what your hate meant
And be sure not to relent

So, if you find this instructive
Then the natural deductive
Is by nature you’re destructive
And you’re also nonproductive
When you show your cowardice
By engaging in this
You’re not only remiss
Your ignorance is bliss












Cedric McClester, Copyright © 2019.   All rights reserved.

By: Cedric McClester

We cannot deny, yo
Gun violence has gone viral
It’s happened in Ohio
And we’re left to ask why, yo
In less than 24 hours
There’s another need
For condolence and flowers
So, get out of your ivory towers

Upon closer inspection
This looks like insurrection
We’ve gone in the wrong direction
There’s a need for our protection
So, to hell with pundits musing
This isn’t that confusing
We can see that we’re abusing
The gun laws that we’re using

Tell me am I wrong
To ask, what is going on?
Another nine are gone
Friends and family are forlorn
Change the cities and the names
Seems the stories are the same
Aren’t we tired of these sick games?
Let’s change the lenses and the frames

If we don’t break, we better bend
It’s a challenge, but we can
Bring this madness to an end
Providing that’s what we intend
To end, our commitment to violence
Let the dog whistles be silenced
There’s a need for noncompliance
Show resistance and defiance














Cedric McClester, Copyright © 2019.  All rights reserved.

By: Cedric McClester

I know it sounds absurd
But he didn’t say a word
Before gun shots were heard
The thought never occurred
That it was race related
Though it might be debated
The fact is that he hated
And so, it must be stated

They say more, or less though
He had a manifesto
Found at his arrest, so
His motive’s bound to show
It’s more, or less a given
That it was hatred driven
That’s ******* with a ribbon
I don’t think he’ll be forgiven

We have a national disease
That should bring us to our knees
Shooters feel the need to squeeze
Their triggers, if you please
Their hatred is deep seated
So this scene if oft’ repeated
We must find a way to beat it
As we confront and meet it

We need to do more
If we want to find a cure
Let’s attack it at its core
To minimize its allure
So, believe me and trust
The answer rests with us
Not the ashes or the dust
That results when someone busts













Cedric McClesterf, Copyright © 2019.  All rights reserved.

By: Cedric McClester

It’s beyond belief
That the Hate Meister and Chief
Would dare express his grief
At a reoccurring motif
This time twenty people died
In El Paso, so you decide
Whether it was related, or tied
To the nation’s race divide

He lives to separate
The races by the hate
That his words percolate
And at any rate
He revels in discord
That we can ill afford
Waiting for the applaud
So, heaven help us Lord

Something must be done
To get hatred on the run
For the sake of everyone
Living under the sun
We needn’t fan the flames
As a certain person aims
By playing dangerous games
No need for naming names

He can’t throw rocks
And hide
With his complicity denied
He must ultimately, be tried
For the crimes that he’s inspired
By getting people wired
And then he must be fired
Not applauded or admired




































Cedric McClester, Copyright © 2019.  All rights reserved.

By: Cedric McClester

Never mind the usual,
Moment of silence
Are we gonna do sumthin’
About gun violence?
Or for that matter
Our reliance
On politicians who are in
NRA compliance

What will be said
Besides our sympathy
Goes out to the dead and injured
If we have empathy
But that sounds very empty
If you’re asking me
When concrete action
We fail to see

Can it be chalked up
To an aberration
Or a contagion
That infects our nation
For far too long we’ve
Had to be patient
As the President makes
Another meaningless statement

Insanity is doing the
Same thing again
And pretending not to know
How it will end
While thinking in good time
That you will mend
After the authorities
Attempt to apprehend























Cedric McClester, Copyright © 2019.  All rights reserved.

By: Cedric McClester

It will take more than
A lot of salve
To get rid of
The president that we have
For those like me
Who have done the math
It will probably require
A three-day bath

It will take more than
Than idle talk
To make this president
Take a walk
From his 30 percent
Voting bloc
Perhaps he needs
An impeachment shock

It will take more than
A tweeted zinger
Or his opposition
Pointing a finger
To take away the stench
Which will no doubt linger
Before he is placed
Inside the wringer

It will take more than
Just wishful thinking
To watch his viability
As it starts shrinking
Which isn’t the time
To begin blinking
Or prematurely
Start glass clinking





















Cedric McClester, Copyright © 2019.  All rights reserved.

By: Cedric McClester

Do we have problems?
That’s for sure!
But, I still love
The city of Baltimore!
From the Inner Harbor
To Cockeysville.
Did I neglect to
Mention Federal Hill?

We’re known as
“A city of neighborhoods”
Where WEB DuBois
Was first understood
And Edgar Allen Poe
Showed that he could
Write a scary novel
That was very good

We’re the same city
Trump chose to malign
But perhaps that’s because
We’re one of a kind
Or maybe that’s because
He lost his mind
It’s either one, or the other
You’ll surely find

We are the city
Faults and all
Where the Baltimore Orioles
Still play baseball
And thousands of immigrants
Heeded the call
When they came to America
Summer, winter or fall
























Cedric McClester, Copyright © 2019.  All rights reserve.

By: Cedric McClester

You don’t really believe,
What the President cannot conceive?
That the Russians meddled indeed
In our election but he paid no heed
We know that the President lied
When he said that Putin denied
Interfering or at least having tried
To show how he was on Trump’s side

And up to this very day
He refuses to believe the CIA
Or let the intelligence get in the way
Of the skullduggery, he has at play
He’s been called a Russian asset
And unquestionably he’s in Putin’s debt
Which is something we must never forget
If we do it will be to our regret

What we should realize
That a man who tells 10,000 lies
And doesni’t believe in our spies
Is someone we have  to chastise
And if that means to impeach
We shouldn’t call it overreach
It has to be done just to teach
What can happen to those who breech

Like Ripley’s Believe It Or Not
Trump’s the Wax figure we got
A man who has no forethought
About the havoc he’s wrpught
So let’s bring his reign to an end
See I can’t wait to begin
And if you feel the same way my friend
Join me in helping him descend














Cedric McClester, Copyright © 2019.  All rights reserved.

By: Cedric McClester

Leningrad Lindsey
And Moscow Mitch
One’s a chameleon
The other a-*****
It’s hard to figure out
Which one is which
They both have a tendency
To position switch

Leningrad Lindsey
And Moscow Mitch
Make a hell of a pair
You must admit
One’s been enchanted
The other has a glitch
But both ‘em tend to
Favor the rich

Leningrad Lindsey
And Moscow Mitch
Speak in unison
In perfect pitch
On behalf of the interests
They hope to enrich
With a snake oil like
Smooth sales pitch

Leningrad Lindsey
And Moscow Mitch
Are enough together
To give you barber’s itch
Call me what cha wanna
Even a snitch
But they’re both on a wagon
Without a hitch













Cedric McClester, copyright © 2019.  All rights resrved.

By: Cedric McClester

You don’t love this country if
You want it to be exclusive
You don’t love this country if
Your mantra’s non-inclusive
You don’t love this country if
Your verbiage is abusive
You don’t love this country if
Your motives are conclusive

You don’t love this country if
You think it’s only Christian
You don’t love this country if
You are on a crusade mission
You don’t love this country if
You don’t have some contrition
You don’t love this country if
Hatred is your sole ambition

You don’t love this country if
You hate your fellow man
You don’t love this country if
You don’t want it to expand
You don’t love this country if
You let guns get out of hand
You don’t love this country if
You want all others banned

You don’t love this country if
You think it’s for the rich
You don’t love this country if
You take us in a ditch
You don’t love this country if
You undo every stitch
You don’t love this country if
You fall for a sales pitch

Cedric McClester, Copyright (c) 2019.  All rights reserved.

By: Cedric McClester

Those two blokes
Sat down to write
A song that took
Most of the night
And when they thought
They had it right
They played it over
To get it tight

The idea came
Out of the blue
One of ‘em played
A note or two
The other started
Writing words
When he had written
down two-thirds

They knew the song
Was almost there
So they tossed
Some ideas in the air
And when their thoughts
Were quite complete
They wrote ‘em on
A music sheet

And they made
Many songs like that
Some songs came
From chewing fat
Followed by a tune
With sharps and flats
They wrote hits
Check out their stats








Cedric McClester, Copyright © 2019.  All rights reserved.

By: Cedric McClester

You and her are in the news
And I admit I’m not amused
Cuz it was always you and me
At least that’s how it used to be
You got with her out of the blue
Now they say you’re married too
Which is something I don’t get
I didn’t know she was a threat
 
I can’t believe what I just read
What the gossip column said
They even dished it on Hot Topics
You got married in the tropics
Everything happened so fast
Thought that we were gonna last
How could you do this to me?
We shared so much history

How long had it been going on?
You must have known that it was wrong
Though you proceeded anyway
But every dog will have its day
Now I don’t wish you no ill will
Because ya see I love you still
And even though my heart is broken
This wedding gift is a small token

I wish you and her the best
And that you find happiness
Hopefully I’ll heal with time
It won’t be for lack of tryin’
You’ve moved on and so will I
Though it’s not easy I can’t deny
But I’m forced now to accept
Whether or not I object








Cedric McClester, Copyright (c) 2019.  All rights reserved.

By: Cedric McClester

Oh, our history
We seem to have forgotten
There’s someone out there
Right now plotting
Because they feel
They’ve been deputized
To shoot someone
Between their eyes

And if history
Can indeed become prologue
Then someone’s bound
To go in whole hog
And attempt to correct
The wrong that they see
No matter who
That happens to be

So those who insist
On stirring up the crowd
Had better be careful about
What they say out loud
Because someone is bound to try it
Once they’ve been incited to riot
And if you don’t want blood on your hands
Better do what decorum demands

See it isn’t those
We’ve been led to believe
Who are secretly plotting
And feeling aggrieved
It’s easy to predict
What they have up their sleeve
If history is prologue
And we’re not naïve






Cedric McClester, Copyright © 2019.  All rights reserved.

By: Cedric McClester

If these walls could talk
What a tale they would tell
About all of the denizens 
Of the Chelsea Hotel
The singers of song
Who lived there for a while
And the transient types
With a different profile

The sheets on the beds
Left undone for the maids
And the sun that was blocked
By the closed window shades
While illicit things went on
That the law forbade
With the needle still in arm
Some were found where they laid

Others drank or smoked ****
Into the wee hours of the night
Vociferously claiming
That it helped them to write
The songs they were known for
To their fans delight
And some just got drunk
And slept through to daylight

If these walls could talk
What a tale they would tell
For some it was heaven
And for others it was hell
But all were attracted
As if caught in a spell
That’s why the checked into
The Chelsea Hotel
















Cedric McClester, Copyright © 2019.  All rights reserved.

By: Cedric McClester

Troubled song bird
With a broken wing
Lucky for her 
She can still sing
Walking contradiction
But then here’s the thing
She has an affliction
With an old familiar ring

Troubled song bird
Time and time again
You seem to wind up
At the place where you begin
Got to change the cycle
And let the madness end
Take this sound advice
It’s coming from a friend

Troubled song bird
You don’t have to be
Has the thought occurred?
It should be plain to see
You’re in your own way
Too much of the time
And that’s just to say
With no reason or a rhyme

Troubled song bird
Time will heal your wing
Don’t cha know that time
Heals almost anything
So hold you head up high
It’s time to flap your wings
And head for the sky
‘Cuz you were made to fly










Cedric McClester, Copyright © 2019.  All rights reserved.

By: Cedric McClester

Trump’s a trip
He’s flipped the script
Which isn’t hip
But let him rip
He portrays the squad as racist
Without a logical basis
Which happens to be what the case is
‘Cuz the things that he says are tasteless

Trump’s a trip
Historically a blip
Like his latest quip
Or receiving a pink slip
On a sinking ship
Once you get a grip
You’re better equipped
To accept the postscript

Trump’s a trip
Who’s bound to slip
Be forced to take a dip
At a faster clip
Than a falling space ship
Or an apprenticeship
Where you’re routinely gypped
Because the script is flipped

Trump’s a trip
Like a critical grade skipped
A waiter not tipped
Or a plagiarized script
A prisoner who’s stripped
The keeper of the crypt
A witness that’s flipped
Or a diamond that’s chipped












Cedric McClester, Copyright © 2019. All rights reserved.


'

By: Cedric McClester

Is this the America
That the founders had in mind?
When America was founded
What was their design?
Did they mean for us
To become resigned,
To the internecine warfare,
That today we find?

Is this the America
That the founders had in mind?
When they came together
So they could redefine
The autocratic government
That had them in a bind
From which they did their best
To unravel and unwind

Is this the America
That the founders had in mind?
And did they foresee,
Our present day decline?
And if they did,
Would they be benign?
Or would they insist
That we get back in line

Is this the America
That the founders had in mind?
When a despotic president ,
Chose to cross the line?
By casting false aspersions
On opponents thus defined
And giving the red meat
To those similarly inclined










Cedric McClester, Copyright © 2019.  All rights reserved.

By:Cedric McClester

If we all went back
To where we came from,
It’s safe for us to assume
That we’d be where we started
Inside our mother’s womb
Waiting for our moment of arrival
In our birthday suit costumes
As a testament to survival one might presumes

If we all went back
To where we came from,
Our progress would be reversed
By our massive migration
To where we came from first
Giving truth to that old adage
By turning bad to worst
What a fruitless pursuit for us to become immersed

If we all went back
To where we came from,
Wouldn’t it be interesting
To witness the return
Of women and men
Back to a place where we all begin
Inside of the abyss
But that’s not something that we can

If we all went back
To where we came from,
There’d be no progress
And we all could be accused
Of turning more Into so much less
And that should be quite difficult
For us to digest
‘Cuz it would be an exercise purely in excess















Cedric McClester, Copyright © 2019.  All rights reserved.

By: Cedric McClester

Go back to where you came from
The President indelicately said
To those members of Congress
That have gotten in his head
The fact that they’re all female
Which he might like to bed
Is the additional information
That is better left unsaid

Go back to where you came from
Is an old familiar screed?
Which is the object of the subject
That the protagonist happens to need
To make someone feel less than
What they are indeed
By otherizing them
The protagonist hopes to succeed

Go back to where you came from
Some racist like to taunt
Others who are different
When they want to vaunt
Their status over them
Like the philosopher Kant
Or like a mother who has precedent
Over a favorite aunt

Go back to where you came from
As if they really knew
When nine times out to ten
They don’t even have a clue
When they issue that directive
As racist frequently do
But here's some cancer causing tobacco
That I wish that they would chew








Cedric McClester, Copyright © 2019.  All rights reserved.

By: Cedric McClester

It isn’t hyperbole,
It’s a fact
He opened her up
To attack
By placing a target
On her back
And you had best
Believe that Jack!

He throws rocks
Then hides his hand
And does whatever else
He can
To incite his people
Down to the man
Who buy his *******
Understand?

Pray to God
No one gets hurt
When he gets finished
Throwing dirt
It’s not as if
They are inert
As we might hear
Him try to assert

He does his best
To divide
Now there’s nowhere
For him to hide
Or take back
The fact he lied
After they’ve been
Multiplied











Cedric McClester, Copyright © 2019.  All rights reserved.

By: Cedric McClester

We’ve been patient
With this embarrassment to the nation
Who put civility on vacation
Which is the present situation
He plays his games of race
For the benefit of his base
Though an outlier in any case
He is readily embraced

We watch this demigod
Going in whole hog
With the hateful Tweets we log
As we read his daily blog
He’s openly misogynistic
According to the statistic
What he’s not is futuristic
Nor is he a sage or mystic

And there’s no debate
That he traffics in hate
Just as he anticipates
Many people take the bait
So, if you’re not on his side
When his strategy’s applied
The field is opened wide
He lives to conquer or divide

He pours on the oil
To fuel the fire or to foil
His enemies who toil
Just to bring it to a boil
And he’s fully aware
Though he doesn’t really care
About the women he will smear
With the lies that he will share












Cedric McClester, Copyright © 2019. All rights reserved.

By: Cedric McClester

I enlisted in the army
To help my Uncle Sam
Wrapped myelf in the flag
‘Cuz that’s just who I am
But I grew up in a hurry
When I went to Iraq
See I had no idea at all
Whether I’d be coming back

When the bullets started flying
And the bombs exploded
You had best believe that I
Was locked and fully loaded
I quickly fired back
DIdn’t have to be goaded
To defend my buddies and I
‘Cuz that’s the way I soldiered

Now I suffer from
Post tramatic stress
Deployed too many times
If I had to guess
So is there any wonder
Why I’m one hot mess
And I pray every day
That I don’t regress

All of us who served
Were just grist for the mill
And those who made it out
Outnumbered who they killed
Am I a patriot today
Though my fervor had been stilled
How could I be once I realized
That needless blood was spilled



















Cedric McClester, Copyright © 2019.  All rights reserved.

By: Cedric McClester

If Trump isn’t a racist
Then what is a racist to you?
If Trump is not a racist
What does one have to do?
From the Mexicans he maligned
At the bottom of the escalator
To the Muslims he redefined
He’s proven he’s a hater

If Trump isn’t a racist
Which some are reluctant to say
Then he comes as close as you can get
To one in every way
Who can forget
The Central Park 5?
If Trump had his way
Would not be alive

If Trump isn’t a racist
Then you have to tell me
What does he have to do
For you to see
The tokens around him
Don’t offer a key
As to what the man is
And will always be

If Trump isn’t a racist
Then I give up
He’s more than a misogynist
Who’s also corrupt
The man is the definition
Of a racist construct
And the epitome
Of don’t give a ****











Cedric McClester, Copyright © 2019.  All rights reserved.

By: Cedric McClester

This is a fact
That you can’t deny
Racism is as American
As apple pie
To say otherwise
Would be to lie
When there is no need to
So, I will not try

The President is
A racist shame
Telling Representatives of color
Go back to where you came
But they’re all Americans
So it ain’t the same
Yet the Republicans
Refuse to place any blame

He hides behind
A barrage of racist tweets
Full of misspelled words
That he repeats
Which he shares with those
That he frequently meets
Like a group of reporters
On White House beats

Racists by and large
Usually run or hide
When they’re pointed out
And identified
But its an accurate term
That must be applied
Whether, or not
They care to confide












Cedric McClester, Copyright © 2019.  All rights reserved.

By: Cedric McClester

I’m afraid, my friend
He wants this country
White again
But he must have forgotten
The Indian
Who was here,
Before he
Arrived back then

It’s easy
Enough,
For him to forget
That he owes
The Red man
A great big debt
But I haven’t said
Nothing yet

What he owes ‘em
He can never repay
After taking their
Precious land away
And killing them in droves
Like it was okay
After breaking every treaty
Which is  just to say

Fact of the matter,
This country never was white
You see, it was the Red Man’s
By birthright
But he was engaged
In a losing fight
Against savages
Who had superior might





Cedric McClester, Copyright © 2019.  All rights reserved.

By: Cedric McClester

Round them all up
The President said
Disrupt their sleep
Get ‘em out of bed
Send ‘em back to the countries
From which they fled
‘Cuz he don’t give a ****
If they wind up dead

A heart as cold as ICE
Doesn’t factor in
The kinds of lives they led
Or from where they’ve been
He’d like to see a country
Where if you have white skin
You’ll have the advantage
Over other men

His in-laws are immigrants
But their pigment is white
One was even a Communist
But he finds that alright
He’s an avowed Xenophobe
Who often gets uptight
When it’s someone of color
Who out of fear took flight

He wants ‘em rounded up
And deported right away
He doesn’t give a ****
Whether night or day
His racist like tendencies
Are always on display
He’d like Latin Americans
Deported now today




















Cedric McClester, Copyright © 2019.  All rights reserved.

By: Cedric McClester

Of course, I’m not perfect
I never claimed to be
In fact, my imperfections
Are clear enough to see
But that does not imply
That I haven’t worked on me
Or that I haven’t tried
To unravel the mystery

Who I am right now
Isn’t who I’m going to be
And who I was in the past
Is ancient history
Who shall I become
Is perhaps my destiny
Because I’m evolving
And that should be the key

Like many people that I know
I’m full of contradictions
And tortured at times
By my inner conflictions
But still I live my life
With as few restrictions
As karma will allow
Due to my convictions

And no, I am not perfect
But neither are you
Though I strive to be
It’s not that easy to do
Which says I’m only human
Are you human too?
Because if you are
It doesn’t exist as you knew










Cedric McClester, Copyright © 2019.  All rights reserved.

By: Cedric McClester

I wrote these words down
Tryin’ my best to please
Wishing I could write them
In classic Dylanese
But I’m not even close
Don’t say I am, to appease
‘Cuz Dylan makes me genuflect
While dusting off my knees

To make a comparison
Would clearly be a joke
I’d have to say that Dylan’s style
Borders on baroque
His lyrics are full of substance
While mine are full of smoke
And he’s become rich from his
While I remain still broke

Every writer needs a mentor
If not, then a muse
To spark their imagination
Or to light their fuse
Better that it come from them
Than from drugs or *****
So you will forgive me
If it’s Dylan that I choose

This might appear to you
As aimless chitter chatter
And while that may be true
It really doesn’t matter
‘Cuz you don’t have a clue
Whether it’s the former or the latter
And it makes no nevermind to me
If you disparage or you flatter






















Cedric McClester, Copyright © 2019.  All rights reserved.

By: Cedric McClester

I believe what was reported
In the news
I believed toothpaste and soap
Was refused
I believe that they were
Sexually abused
And I believe that he
Is guilty as accused

See it’s a purely a matter
Of his choice
Which made the detainees
Raise their voice
Leaving their visitors’
Eyes moist
After insult upon Injury
Was foist

The evidence is there
For all to see
Just how cruel
A powerful man can be
Although he has a date
With destiny
Where there will be
Some reciprocity


Every Republican has
Bent their knee
In a public act
Of fealty
They’re afraid of
Primaries
Or losing their Congressional
Keys








Cedric McClester, Copyright © 2019.  All rights reserved.

By: Cedric McClester

*** was my catharsis
Once upon a time
See I was a lady’s man
When I was in my prime
So I’d engage in it
At least most of the time
It didn’t take too much
For a girl to ring my chime

I was always seeking
Pleasure in the bed
Of so many women
Once I got in their head
It’s funny how time changes things
Now all of that is dead
‘Cuz it was once upon a time
Just the way I said?

I have lots of memories
As you might imagine
Of the women I have bedded
In menage-a-trois fashion
The more scandalous it was
Only heightened my passion
You see I always hungered for
That kind of satisfaction

You might want to ask me
What I do to compensate
Now that I am celibate
And nothing’s on my plate
I’ve resigned myself
To accept my fate
There’s no need to think about it
So I don’t contemplate



















Cedric McClester, Copyright © 2019.  All rights reserved.

By: Cedric McClester

When I woke up this morning
And cleared away the fog
I discovered she had left me
And she also took the dog
I would have seen it coming
If I had read her blog
‘Cuz she declared herself
She was going in whole hog

Don’t ask me if I’m lonely
How else could I be?
Now that I’m all alone
And there’s no one else but me
Careful what you wish for
You see, I’m finally free
But upon careful review
I find I don’t want to be

I wonder who she’s with
And does she think of me?
Or somehow is she content
With whomever she may be
I don’t have the answer
Or the magic key
To be able to unlock
This kind of mystery

I’d like to know whose face
My dog is licking now
And when he’s told to sit
Does he just stare and growl?
I wonder if he misses me
I think he does somehow
Because I was the one
Who always served his chow























Cedric McClester, Copyright © 2019.  All rights reserved.

By: Cedric McClester

He’s not fit to tie
Woody Guthrie’s shoelaces
According to one scribe
But given the breath
And depth of his songs
Somehow that doesn’t gibe
He’s a legend in his own right
Is how he’s best described

Now I’ll grant you,
Old Woody was peerless
And had a way with a song
But to summarily dismiss Dylan
By comparison would be wrong
Both men are made of legend
Whose talents were quite strong
Though most of you knew that all along

Who was better
It’s hard to say,
Basie or the Duke?
For you to choose
Either one
Would clearly be a fluke
Basie got you dancing
And so did the Duke

It’s unfair to make
Comparisons
When it’s merely
A matter of taste
The memory of
Either one
Isn’t that easily
Erased






















Cedric McClester, Copyright © 2019.  All rights reserved.

By: Cedric McClester

They called him pessimistic
Though maybe he was not
Like a spider’s web his reputation
Is the place that he was caught
Perhaps it was the darkness
That he captured in his songs
Which offered no solutions
And didn’t right the wrongs

He tried to write a diary
To offer up some proof
Of the life that he was living
But would he tell the truth?
When asked how he was doing
It always was a goof
Because everytime he told them
They rather he be aloof

What he put down on paper
Wasn’t always true
Especially when it was written
From another’s point of view
He had some tricks up his sleeve
As every writer does
And many choose to believe
That’s the way he really was

He didn’t grow up in an era
Of self-indulgence, like today
His parents rarely asked him
If he was okay
Their love was in the discipline
He grew up to display
And in the fine manners
That he had anyway










Cedric McClester, Copyright © 2019.  All rights reserved.

By: Cedric McClester

Though she didn’t get
The essence wrong
He couldn’t help but to wonder
Why she sang his song
Some of the words
Were artfully rearranged
Or simply misplaced
Like a bunch of small change

Why would anyone want
To sing my song, but me?
Was the question he asked himself
Because he couldn’t see
How come so much interest
From the two or three
Who chose to record it
On vinyl or CD

Not that their versions
Were even half bad
They sang on key
Which made him mad
Because he couldn’t do it
And that’s quite sad
When you’re a balladeer
Who created a sing-song fad

It’s not about his singing
It’s his mastery of words
That developed his reputation
And gave birth to the Byrds
The depth of meaning
Always undergirds
The songs that he’s written
And the pots that he stirred

































Cedric McClester, Copyright ©2019.  All rights reserved.

By: Cedric McClester

It’s like a horror show
From Jordan Peele
With all of the elements
Except that it’s real
Based on the way
That it makes you feel
And for the immigrant
That is the deal

It’s like a horror show
That has been mounted
Under the guise
Everyone should be counted
But is it wise?
Drinking from that fountain
Or turn that molehill
Into a mountain

It’s like a horror show
But we know the villain
He’s proven to be
Ready able and willing
To ignore the children
He’s tacitly killing
In the detention centers
He’s gleefully filling

It’s like a horror show
That we’ve rarely seen
The underlying factor
Is that he’s just mean
And he thinks his actions
Are peachy keen
When it’s become clear
That they’re really obscene








Cedric McClester, Copyright © 2019.  All rights reserved.

By: Cedric McClester

Aberrant behavior
Is putrid it stinks,
He drives his car
After he drinks,
You see his armor
Has plenty of chinks
Like the tomb of the mummy
Or the ancient sphinx

Aberrant behavior
Is clearly on display
By the way that the country
Is being run today
Because hatred and division
Has been brought into play
And we desperately need
That for which we pray

Aberrant behavior
Has become the norm
Under this Administration
It’s embraced by storm
Dictators and enemies
Treated friends lukewarm
And set the standard
Of underperform

Aberrant behavior
Shouldn’t be accepted
Because we know that its
Misdirected
What we should do
Is simply reject it
Or like biology lab
Learn to dissect it













Cedric McClester, Copyright © 2019.  All rights reserved.

By: Cedric McClester

We weren’t the kids
That we were before
She had that body
I couldn’t ignore
And we fell in like
More and more
Then she surrendered herself
For me to explore

That friends became lovers
Isn’t a crime
In fact, it happens
All of the time
But I never thought
Of her as mine
Though she was anyway
Once our stars aligned

Seems, like turned to love
In the blink of an eye
We had. such a long history
Her and I
Before we fell in love
And couldn’t deny
How happy we were
That we gave it a try

Wish I could say
There was a happy ending
But what is the point
Of my pretending
Or the false message
That would be sending
In a vain effort
To avoid offending









Cedric McClester, Copyright © 2019.  All rights reserved.

By: Cedric McClester

Long ago I guess
It was wrong
For me to indulged in
Wine women and song
It took a while for me
To get strong
Strong enough to resist
Being part of the throng

When I was weaker
I caroused the streets
See I was a seeker
Of all kinds of treats
Treats of the flesh
Of the strangers one meets
Or the carnal pleasures
Found on satin sheets

Then I joined the search
For life’s greater meaning
Because it was time
For internal house cleaning
I’d grown very tired
Of all things demeaning
And the various trysts
That I’d been convening

In a small monastery
High on a hill
I learned to surrender
My inner will
The master monk taught me
How to just be still
And direct my thoughts
From the treadmill











Cedric McClester, Copyright © 2019.  All rights reserved.