An Untitled Protest

[northofdenali]

Untitled Protest – Country Joe and the Fish, “Together”, August 1968

Red and swollen tears tumble from her eyes
While cold silver birds who came to cruise the skies
Send death down to bend and twist her tiny hands
And then proceed to target B in keeping with their plans

Khaki priests of Christendom, interpreters of love
Ride a stone Leviathan across a sea of blood.
And pound their feet into the sands of shores they’ve never seen,
Delegates from the Western lands to join the death machine.

And we send cards and letters.

The oxen lie beside the road, their bodies baked in mud.
And fat flies chew out their eyes, and bathe themselves in blood.
And super heroes fill the skies, tally sheets in hand,
Yes, keeping score in times of war takes a super man.

The junk crawls past sudden death, it’s cargo shakes inside.
And soldier children hold their breath, and kill them as they hide.
And those who took so long to learn the subtle ways of death
Lie and bleed in paddy mud with questions on their breath.

And we send prayers and praises.

Country Joe MacDonald 2:45

Enough. Bring them home.