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

If ACE Was The Place
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
28 Feb 2012
🖨️ Print Article

by Raymond Nat Turner

If those who rule really wanted kids to be Aces in life, they wouldn't rig the decks.

If ACE Was The Place

Bake sales and raffles are

Fun, yet twisted inversions,

If five-sided operations

Are four part pyramid schemes…

If ACE was the place,

Sole supplier of weapons

For waging “war on terror—”

On the cheap—

Shipper of mirrors and razors

To Warlords of Wall Street and

Washington—mirrors for finding

Terrorists unerringly, and razors

For doing the right thing: surgically

Taking out, sans collateral damage,

Reflections threatening our planet…

If ACE was the place,

Then, maybe, we could develop

Cheryl Wilson Weapons Systems for

Wrapping arms securely around

Children entering the schoolyard,

And spraying them with friendly

Fire, with report resembling praise—

Weapons launching tutors at Ayat,

4th grader from Yemen, instead of

Hellfire Missiles from drones

If ACE was the place…

If ACE was the place,

Then, maybe, we could construct

Jeanette Gearring Weapons Systems for

Spying on students making super choices,

Doing good deeds during the day, and

Automatically charging them with being

Caught In The Act?

If ACE was the place…

If ACE was the place,

Then, maybe, we could assemble

Angelica Perez Weapon Systems for

Plotting strategies for increasing

Jonah’s reading fluency, and

Recognizing the twins, Brooke and

Jasmin, without retina scans?

If ACE was the place…

If ACE was the place,

Then, maybe, we could forge

Juan Zuniga Weapons Systems for

Listening in on conversations in

Angel’s belly, and providing food

With no oil, or strings attached…

If ACE was the place…

If ACE was the place,

Then, maybe, we could manufacture

More weapons of mass instruction

For Farmer Ben and Chef Kathy

For the war on Colonel Sanders,

Popeye, Jack, and Ronald McDonald?

If ACE was the place…

If ACE was the place,

Then, maybe, we could produce the next

Generation of Julie Venuto Weapons for

Launching IEPs, RTIs and other artillery

Supporting Special Forces, armed with

Love and commitment to Janvier, Danny,

Dalia, Sophia, Emeline, Michael and Elijah—

Like teachers Clementina, Chris, Rita, and Sian?

If ACE was the place…

If ACE was the place,

Then, maybe, we could construct

Lorna Cross Weapons Systems for

Coordinating Joint Operations with Henderson’s

4th division in invading San Francisco by BART,

Or Yellow busses, and occupying Mission Dolores

More often?

If ACE was the place…

If ACE was the place,

Then, maybe, we could assemble

Yusef Auletta Weapons Systems for

Graduating, rather than assassinating,

Ayat’s sister, the 5th grader, Mandal

If ACE was the place…

Then, maybe, we could develop

Cheryl Wilson Weapons Systems for

Marshalling ever more extraordinary

Renditions, like Aguas, Argueta and

Aulleta— a few good A’s—

If ACE was the place…

Raymond Nat Turner © 2012 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


  • Protester holding up sign saying "Don't censor Palestine"
    Thad Baltimore
    Uncovering Media Misinformation About The Gaza Genocide
    29 Nov 2023
    The US empire is continuing its psychological warfare campaign by conducting a mass mobilization of resources and waging a propaganda offensive to protect its interests in the Middle East.
  • Map of disputed territory between Venezuela and Guyana
    Tamanisha John
    Guyana and Venezuela: The Crisis of Imperialism Currently Unfolding on South America's Caribbean Coast
    29 Nov 2023
    Despite the reality of US intervention causing inhumane conditions in the region, Venezuela’s push for the annexation of Guyana’s Essequibo region prioritizes its own political objectives,…
  • New Orleans residents walk through chest deep floodwater during Hurricane Katrina
    Maya RIchard-Craven
    The Hidden Toll of Hurricane Katrina on the Mental Health of Black Survivors
    29 Nov 2023
    Survivors open up about struggles with lingering post-traumatic stress disorder 18 years after the storm
  • Kenya Supreme Court Building
    Peoples Dispatch
    Kenyan High Court Blocks Parliamentary Authorization of Police Mission to Haiti
    22 Nov 2023
    The high court in Nairobi will issue a ruling on a legal challenge to the deployment of 1,000 Kenyan police forces to Haiti as part of a “multinational force.” The US and UN-backed mission has been…
  • International Criminal Court
    Mark P. Fancher
    Global Condemnation of Zionist Crimes Spells Doom for Zionist Criminals
    22 Nov 2023
    Genocide and war crimes are clearly defined in international law. The zionist entity should be prosecuted by the International Criminal Court.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us