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


  • Biden holding a Ukrainian refugee child
    Margaret Kimberley, BAR Executive Editor and Senior Columnist
    Racist Asylum and Immigration Policy in the U.S. and Canada
    06 Mar 2024
    Fears of an “invasion” at the border are nothing more than white supremacy being openly expressed. It could not be otherwise in a settler colony created by migration from Europe. To millions of…
  • Pierre Hudicourt
    Editors, The Black Agenda Review
    SPEECH: Haiti’s Appeal to Americans, Pierre Hudicourt, 1922
    06 Mar 2024
    In 1922 legal scholar Pierre Hudicourt argued that the US military occupation of Haiti was illegal. As Haiti enters the 20th year of another illegal occupation, Hudicourt’s analysis resonates…
  • What is Anti-racism
    Ann Garrison, BAR Contributing Editor
    “What Is Anti-Racism? And Why It Means Anti-Capitalism,” A Book Review
    06 Mar 2024
    Arun Kundnani details the histories of liberal and radical anti-racism and argues that anti-racism ultimately means anti-capitalism.
  • Collage of Black politicians
    Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
    War criminal Bassackwards Tribe
    06 Mar 2024
    "War criminal Bassackwards Tribe" is the latest from our Poet-in-Residence.
  • CARICOM officials arrive in Haiti
    Jemima Pierre, BAR Editor and Contributor
    Why is CARICOM Betraying Haiti on Behalf of the U.S.?
    06 Mar 2024
    The impending occupation of Haiti by Kenya is supported by the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) with direct assistance in the mission coming from CARICOM states. The question is, why?
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us