by Ted Lucy
They came here uninvited. Set up settlements. Brought slaves.
They called the residents of these shores savages
To justify stealing their land.
With their false tongues and their diseases they killed nine savages
Of every ten. There was plenty of land.
Behind the banner of their bible they filled it.
Cram the children of their slaves into prisons and jails
Cram the children of their native population onto small scraps of land
Blame them for their troubles. For talking up. For talking back.
Demanding rights. And they sing
God Bless America
From shore to shining shore. They sing
God Bless America
As they curse and blame their troubles on the men
I made gay.
They don’t care about the women much.
The men they strap to trees like honored sacrifices, and they sing
God Bless America
When they should beg
God forgive us for we have sinned.
We always knew, we always should have known
The bible we used as a tool to conquer these lands
The bible we used as a tool to leverage its wealth
The bible we used as a tool to rid ourselves of a native nuisance
The bible we used as a tool to catch and harness and drag the citizens of Africa
Over the sea of Columbus like cattle and spit at like angry dogs
The bible we used to name this place the shining city on a hill
Warned us. Named us.
The bible we converted into plowshares and guns
Instead of reading it--
May one not be pardoned?--
It told us not to sing.
