Manchild in the land of cotton

Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence

16 Aug 2023

Man-child in the land of cotton

(For Dameion Pickett and Aaren Rudolph)

“We dare maintain our rights.”

—Alabama State Motto

I.
For 40 minutes + riverboat Captain honked horn and
Pleaded over public address for pontoon boat to pull out
So big boat’s 227 passengers could disembark—after letting
Good times roll on the river…

Who knew if babysitters were blowing phones up?
If flight plans were flying south? If pregnant people were
launching into labor? If an emergency vehicle was waiting to
Rush someone into surgery?

All that was Trumped by 90 proof of plantation privilege.
Captain’s pleas answered with aerosol white supremacy.
With Johnny Walker Red-Old Grandad-Jim Beam-backed
Violence!

II.
‘White’ men “appear” to do this; Or that… Oh, not your lying eyes
Again? "Racially motivated?” “Hate crime?” No way! “Getting my
Gun!” was said in jest—just a “Riverboat Brawl;” “Montgomery Melee—”
Like the Civil War—“Very fine people on both sides…”

No. You didn’t see a ‘white’ mob N-wording; running amok in pre-
Lynch mode. Didn’t see feeding-frenzied thugs tearing into another
Black body like Great White sharks— or badges under color of
Law…

III.
Black Man-child dove deep into Alabama River
Dove deep into rivers of black resistance—Dove
Deep in the heart of Dixie…

Black Man-child dove deep—Swam against the
Tide to a dock where combative confederates spoke in
jabs, hooks, uppercuts—Repeating: Black workers
Have no authority ‘white’ men are “bound to respect…”

Black Man-child dove deep— Swam against the
Tide to a dock where racist ruffians were rat-packing
a Black worker for “doing His job…” Aligning exit
gate with exit ramp—so 227 could safely disembark

Black Man-child dove deep— Swam dolphin-like—
porpoise purpose— like Ancestors escaping slavery
Swam in solidarity against the
Tide to the dock: Stopping another F Train
Lynching; Another 9min. Minnesota murder; Another Staten
Island strangulation—Stopping white supremacist violence!

Black Man-child dove deep—Stood
Vertically— straight up steel spine!
Hi-walked worker solidarity (unlike school shooters and
Officer Prodigy—racist, rifle-strapped young gunman—
making bones— gunning down 2 and walking in Wisconsin)

Black Man-child dove deep into Alabama River
Dove deep into rivers of black resistance—Dove
Deep in the heart of
Dixie…
so that another Black worker wouldn’t rest in hospital—
Or hashtag in morgue…

Raymond Nat Turner is a NYC poet; BAR's Poet-in-Residence; and founder/co-leader of the jazz-poetry ensemble UpSurge!NYC. You can Vote for his work at: GoFundMe and PayPal.

Alabama

Montgomery

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