by BAR poet in residence Raymond Nat Turner
in which the poet muses upon the landscapeve in which urban pioneers thrive
Oink
by BAR poet in residence Raymond Nat Turner
I saw Satan high on SeconalââRed
Devilsââzap an app for zombie-settlers.
Then they came by covered wagon,
stagecoach, horsebackâbathed, and
reinvented themselves as programmers,
humans, condo-owners.
I saw rent refugees morph into miserable
Monstersâvapid vampires sucking soul,
air and chocolate out Tha Town. I saw them
turn into werewolves on Lakeshore, pushing
porcelain babies in thousand dollar strollers;
stressed-out Yogis practicing purse-clutching,
street-crossing, stink-eye Spiritualism on children
and grand-children of seventy-year residents.
I saw Dadaists driving drunk the wrong way on
10K gold-paved streets, killing dance masters,
like policemen gunning down painters as a form
of critique
I saw the Best Burrito Shop, The5th Amendment,
and Africa By The Bay run off The Ave; their places
Taken by caffeine shooting galleries and Boer beer
bars for rent refugees trekkking 13 miles, bringing
Butte with them.
I saw nextdoor.com Nazi-NSA impersonators circle
laager between OPD cruisers and string yellow tape
around drumming, dancing, BBQing, singing Gospel
and other verbs modified by the phrase: ââŚwhile Blackâ
Raymond Nat Turner Š 2015 All Rights Reserved
Joy James uses poet Lucille Clifton's image of ânew bonesâ to reflect on a series of revolutionary anniversaries in 2021 and the nature of political leadership.
Dominican racial logic frequently contradicts what US scholars think they know about how race works.
Black History Month strengthened Black German claims of kinship with their nation and the larger diaspora.
The Black political class is wedded to the centrist Democrats for its âfatback and biscuitsâ patronage.
Judges, prosecutors and sheriffs in many states sent people home instead of to jail last year, but new data suggests the change is not lasting.
