Black Agenda Report
Black Agenda Report
News, commentary and analysis from the black left.

  • Home
  • Africa
  • African America
  • Education
  • Environment
  • International
  • Media and Culture
  • Political Economy
  • Radio
  • US Politics
  • War and Empire

Don't Play that Song
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
12 Sep 2018
🖨️ Print Article
this is what we do overseas
Don't Play that Song....

Don’t Sing That Song ‘bout

Bombs bursting in air,

Rocket’s red glare

Gave proof through the bus

40 children were dead.

Don’t Sing That Song

that “supports the troops”

Kicking in doors at 4AM;

Urinating on bodies

of Afghan fighters;

Defecating on

the Koran; Cutting

off ears and fingers—

Sporting them like

macabre trophies…

Don’t Sing That Song of

twilight’s last gleaming;

and perilous flight of

Hellfire Missiles from

Predator Drones—

white boy toys draining

treasure and blood:

Bankrupting us morally

Don’t Sing That Song—

‘bout a warfare state

with money for missiles,

Leaden water; collapsing

bridges; broken down

trains; Tent Cities and

citizens curled up on

cardboard—chanting,

“Spare change—

you can believe in?”

Don’t Sing That Song—

that slave masterpiece—

‘bout broad stripes on

brown backs; bright stars

in scrambled brains—Home

of the brave—gunning

down Black men in the streets

Don’t Sing That Song

Giving comfort to

War House Hitler-lovers

on Capitalist Hill,

White Supreme Court, slave

master statues, and military bases

named for confederate traitors

Don’t Sing That Song

Marvin prosecuted

for its soullessness—

Rene Marie face-

lifted with Every Voice—

as Nobel Drone Ranger

rammed her under the

bus with his Peace Prize—

Don’t Sing That Song

Jimi’s guitar tried

for war crimes at Woodstock!

Our poet in residence Raymond Nat Turner is an accomplished performing artist. Find much more of his work at http://upsurgejazz.com.

© 2018. Raymond Nat Turner, The Town Crier. All Rights Reserved.

Do you need and appreciate Black Agenda Report articles? Please click on the DONATE icon, and help us out, if you can.


More Stories


  • Migration and Other Lies About Eritrea
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Migration and Other Lies About Eritrea
    04 Aug 2023
    In a 2015 interview on the Real News Network Glen Ford explained why the west is so hostile to Eritrea and tells lies about migration from that country.
  • The Dems and Repubs are Moneypots, Not Real Political Parties
    Glen Ford , BAR executive editor
    The Dems and Repubs are Moneypots, Not Real Political Parties
    02 Aug 2023
    If the Democrats were a real, mass based party, they would never consider Joe Biden as their nominee because he has no support among the people that energize parties: the youth.
  • A Tribute to Glen Ford
    The Editors
    A Tribute to Glen Ford
    02 Aug 2023
    "What would Glen Ford say?" That question is one which we often ask ourselves two years after his passing. 
  • Glen Ford , BAR executive editor
    "Booming" Economy Means More Bad Jobs and Faster Race to the Bottom
    02 Aug 2023
    For the past 30 years, no matter which party has been in power, the US economy has produced more and more “bad” jobs – because the Race to the Bottom is ruling class policy.
  • Believe Absolutely Nothing the US Government and Media Say About ...Anything
    Glen Ford , BAR executive editor
    Believe Absolutely Nothing the US Government and Media Say About ...Anything
    02 Aug 2023
    It is true now just as when Glen Ford wrote these words in 2019. In any alliance with corporate oppression and militarism, Black America squanders reservoirs of respect among the Earth’s peoples.…
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us