by BAR poet in residence Raymond Nat Turner
Whatchu do on election day might be important, our poet affirms, but it's by no means everything. Changing the world calls for a lot more stuff before, during, after and often enough in spite of elections, candidates and campaigns.
Feet Wonât Fail You Now:
Vote With Them!
by BAR poet in residence Raymond Nat Turner
I.
Presto! Abra-cadaver! Regime change!
And the wars played onâŚThereâs a Ta-
Da List: Libya, Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran, SyriaâŚ
Itâs more honest, less pretentious
having Haliburton and Boeing on
Ballots and Raytheon, Exxon and
General Dynamics nominating
Northrup-Grummond; Lockheed-Martin,
Monsanto and CCA chairing conventionsâŚ
Itâs more honest, less pretentious
showing JFK, gaping hole in his
throat, brain oozing out the back
of his head; and Jackieâs blood-
splattered pink dress with all the
Pomp and circumstanceâŚ
Itâs more honest, less pretentious
calling it corporatocracy, kleptocracy,
autocracy, plutocracyâanything but
Democracyâfor the working-class
Itâs more honest, less pretentious
To quit pretending itâs broken and
we can fix it. Itâs emergency managed
magnificently, works perfectlyâfor the 1%
Itâs more honest, less pretentious
shutting up about holding anyoneâs
Combat boots to the fire!
You claim thereâs an opening for socialism
In this anti-communist bastion of the world,
and your phones are smartâŚIs there an app
for socialism? Communism? If not, the real
Question in this forest of question marks is:
How quickly can we cram for the EXAM?
How rapidly can we build on baby steps?
How fast can we cut plastic cuffs from our
Dreams and snatch stars through orange netting?
How swiftly can we recycle shackles into Independent
Organizations? How quickly can we come together?
How fast can we cast illusions off and light lanterns
of theory guiding our steps?
How swiftly can we blend rivulets of revolt into a river of
Revolution?
Must we continue cowering before bloodthirsty Barnum&
Bailey, champagne-caviar spectacles, cycles of fear, before
Bogeymen, Bogey-Ladies and colored tokens granted rights
to do wrong: pulling nuts of The New Amerikkkkan Century
from class struggleâs campfire?
2008-2016
Black dyed-in-the wool corporate war criminal
2016-2024
Woman warmonger, Wall Street operative
2024â2032
âLatinoâ warlord, creature of the 1%
2032-2040
Asian exponent of the âpivotâ
2040-2048
First Openly Gay Commander-in-Chief
2048-2056
First Disabled agent of war profiteersâthen
Restart cycles, doubling up on identitiesâŚ
II.
Your feet burn, legs ache, but ever
Notice how energized, invigorated,
Uplifted, militant marches make you?
Breathingâs not shallowâdefeated like
aftermath of $campaigns & $elections
Youâre revitalized as rubber and road meet
at your feet; street heat voting wonât fail youâŚ
Raymond Nat Turner Š 2016 All Rights Reserved
Raymond Nat Turner is an acclaimed poet and performance artist. Find more of his work at http://ursurgejazz.com
"Ethnic cleansing called Katrina" is the latest from BAR's Poet-in-Residence.
Jaribu Hill, Executive Director of the Mississippi Workersâ Center for Human Rights, recounts the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina on the Gulf Coast and the efforts to organize on behalf of the people.
"Racism showed its ass in the days after August 29, 2005."
The official response to Katrina was a catastrophic failure of the state. The real story of survival was written by a coalition of the discardedâex-offenders and Black churchesâwho built their ownâŚ
The U.S. is a purveyor of global violence, as illustrated by the intensifying militarism in the Caribbean and targeting of Venezuela. The struggle to establish a Zone of Peace directly challengesâŚ
