do not attack babylon

by Hakeem Muhammad

i’m a scriptural person
let me no longer be shy

i see in today’s news
the vision of daniel

the towering iron-clad giant
with feet of clay

about to attack babylon

the irony
the irony

about to attack babylon
where daniel was a slave

no victory is possible
not even conceived

just destruction
sugar-iced with
self-serving illusions

who will eat this cake?

or is all america
lined up to drink
the sweetened poison?

& & &

in all the scriptures
only nineveh survived

only nineveh
received the prophet

reluctant jonah
whose heart cried out
for destruction

the empire
had enslaved his
godly people

but the repentance of nineveh
was thorough

sackcloth and ashes
for the rich and powerful

frugality and humility

sackcloth and ashes
for the poor and the weak

yes
for them also
frugality and humility

as they cast off
the chains of envy

let go their obsession
with the sweetness
of fame and fortune

let go their flirtation
with lady luck

and dark pursuits

so nineveh repented
and nineveh was saved

despite angry jonah
who wanted nineveh to burn

& & &

do not attack babylon

does the prophet ever
tell you what you want
to hear?

jeremiah warned
the house of israel

do not defy babylon

but they rejected the prophet
and the house of israel
was destroyed

no fancied notion of
a special friendship
with the creator

stands between
a nation and its fate

do not attack babylon

& & &

god bless america
no
god save america

carry the flag
and restore
the constitution

do not be angry
but pray

let america
repent and be saved

& & &

but america is beating
plowshares into swords

starving the needy
enslaving the weak
exploiting the sick

letting the schools
collapse
the libraries
close
public services
cut off

taxes tolls
and tuition
raised on the poor
to give more
to the rich

because america
is ruled by
corporate corruption

and a
violent
consuming
greed

& & &

but watch
watch

when the unemployed
find no more credit
to sustain
the cycle of avarice

when small businesses
fold
and the bankrupt have
nothing to give

when the illusion
of corporate viability
vanishes

watch
the iron-clad
tower of empire
crumble

watch
the upper layers
collapse
onto the layers
below

watch
watch

as everyone
trapped
in this tower
is crushed

have we seen this before?

& & &

who will eat this cake?

or is all america
lined up to drink
the sweetened poison?

do not attack babylon

February 21, 2003

Hakeem Muhammad