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
  • omnibus

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


  • Carlos Sirah
    Dispatch: Through the Fire
    22 Jan 2025
    The fires raging through southern California have devastated Black communities, such as in Altadena. The failures of city and state political leadership to provide proper emergency services have…
  • International Manifesto Group
    Jacqueline Luqman
    Trump’s Presidency and the Prospects for Peace in 2025: Adapted Remarks from the IMG
    22 Jan 2025
    Jacqueline Luqman recently delivered these remarks at a webinar hosted by the International Manifesto Group, "Trump’s Presidency and the Prospects for Peace in 2025."
  • Travis Ross
    How Aristide’s Lavalas Family Party Has Lurched to the Right
    22 Jan 2025
    Fanmi Lavalas has fallen far from its roots as a popular progressive movement and is now nothing more than a servant of imperialism.
  • Ramzy Baroud
    The Price of Impunity in Gaza: Is This Israel’s Day of Reckoning?
    22 Jan 2025
    The war crimes committed by Israeli soldiers have not gone unnoticed by the rest of the world. After over a year of proudly displaying their dirty deeds on social media, these war criminals are now…
  • Alexander Rubinstein
    Black Money, Black Flags: How USAID Paved the Way for Syria’s Militant Takeover
    22 Jan 2025
    The United States leverages soft power through NGOs such as USAID. In Syria, USAID operated as a channel to help maintain relations with terrorist groups and facilitate regime change through the…
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us