Babylonian Anthem
Thou, O king, hast made a decree,
that every man that shall hear the
sound of the cornet, flute, harp,
sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer,
and all kinds of musick, shall fall
down and worship the golden image:
And whoso falleth not down and
worshippeth, that he should be cast
into the midst of a burning fiery furnace
Dan. 3:10-11
When you hear the sound of the dulcimer tones,
rise ... and give thanks to man that you’re alive
Some short time ago, a latter-day Nebuchadnezzar said:
Don’t bow ... stand
when you hear that peculiar music play
Everybody now know what to do
when the Babylonian anthem hit the airwaves,
and come piping through
This new king said to all his subjects:
Every time you hear the anthem music,
give me a sign
to show me that your fealty is mine
Give me a vow,
speak plain your loyalty
Show me that you love this country,
which I let you live in for a small tax fee
Give reverence to my armies
who protect everything you got,
including your life, which you owe to me
Show me your gratitude —
I bet not see any protest, or no bad attitude
Don’t come telling me about some
trivial, kingdom oppression fake news
Stand ... put your hand on your heart
to openly show all
that you place your faith and trust in
the sacred wavy cloth
Bestow honor and power to the woven idol;
it brought peace and prosperity
to this fruitful land
So honor it ... and stand!
Didn’t he tell you where to place your hand,
Don’t make him have to harden his heart,
and fire up his best-selling idol-making oven
Such proud Babylonian vanity,
their rich ideas and values
are considered to be of perfect beauty
Whenever the Babylonian anthem blares,
don’t get on your bending knees
to ask his nation does anybody really care
The king says, tell your people to pay their taxes on time,
and not to commit any heinous crime
Put your hand on your heart,
and pledge allegiance
to the Nebuchadnezzar colored cloth
Make sure when you stand, that you understand —
when that peculiar anthem play;
some of you might be blue,
some might be gray
It don’t matter where your civil politics sit either way,
liberal or conservative ... the king always got the last say
He could care less whether you’re straight or gay
As long as you’re worshiping him,
king Nebuchadnezzar, at the end of the day
Remember, when the Babylonian anthem
begins to play ... great or small,
don’t disrespect his royal cloth
Although it can’t wash your sins away,
kissing the colored cloth
where the bald eagle dropped a little backdoor soft
Will keep your sorry sackbut soul
from getting fiery furnace tossed
Constitutional ignorance don’t flip this king’s sympathy card,
you better know where your hand is,
as well where be your heart
Bringing out the Pharaoh in him ain’t good,
is that now understood?
Stand ... be proud of your war anthem
Conquering and assimilating cultures
is a very profitable Babylonian tradition
Sure, there’s a lot of dirty laundry history,
the best moneymaking venture was investing in slavery
When he clink the chains, he never try to tell them
it ain’t ever personal
Cold business decisions require emotional distance,
that’s just the way the wind of fate blows
Speaking of personal:
Most everyone knows his mother, Mystery, is a harlot
Which makes him a mongrel son,
whose ring finger got an angry twitch
And he’s very quick on flipping the nuclear oven switch
So don’t forget: he take no excuses, and he rarely miss
an opportunity to cremate more death ashes
So listen to your king Neb’s advice, and stand —
he demand complete obedience
Every child, woman and man better not kneel,
they better stand ...
When the Babylonian anthem is playing
Every man, woman and child
better know where to place their hand,
and know where to put their heart ...
When the Babylonian anthem start
Let him see your flag waving vow of loyalty;
support his troops, and enjoy
the spoils of war from every Babylonian victory
Thru the smoke and fire you can hear his primal plea:
Put your trust in the tri-colored cloth image of me
Sell me your soul
for secular shekel security
And let me be your God,
in whom you believe
Worship my cult of personality
Babylonian anthem lets him know
who’s on the king’s side
When that anthem starts playing,
nobody can hide
O Babylonian citizens rise,
and stand ... when he command
Give glory to the revered linen articles of man,
wavy righteousness is a heart covered by hand
Puff out your chest, put hand over your breast;
the king says, do this often,
and prosperity will flood the land
False profits will shill that Babylon is never falling
Intone the spiked crown anthem
in a joyous, deified psaltery key
Giving thanks to man not God,
makes you drunk as Mother harlot Mystery
The handwriting of God remains written on the palace wall,
Nebuchadnezzar’s kingdom will surely fall
So rise and alertly stand,
anticipate the start of the
Babylonian anthem
Pay homage to the patriotic brand,
sing the missing verses if you can
The only true mystery is when
the Babylonian anthem will forever end
Copyright © Freddie Robinson Jr. | Year Posted 2017
Post Comments
Poetrysoup is an environment of encouragement and growth so only provide specific positive comments that indicate what you appreciate about the poem. Negative comments will result your account being banned.
Please
Login
to post a comment