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

Bad Hombres
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
25 Jul 2018
🖨️ Print Article
Bad Hombres
Central American has the highest murder rate on the planet, thanks to 2 centuries of US intervention.

Miguel was a precocious
six-year-old. And Maria,
his mother, swore the
Sun’s shine started in
his green eyes. ‘Ojos Verde,’
she lovingly called him.

Blessed with perfect pitch,
Miguel’s music aptitude
was off the charts! He could pick
Melodies out on the tiny, beat up
guitar, his Grandpa rescued from
Rich folks’ trash and put in Miguel’s
small hands the moment he walked.
And the sky was the limit—before
Bad Hombres with
Badges kidnapped him…

Floods of florescent light, 24/7
and arbitrary darkness behind
blacked out windows…remind
Miguel that his world is flipped
Upside down like a car skidding out of
Control somewhere in Oregon or New York.
He misses his Mommy; He rocks and chants
staccato licks, “Ma-ma, ma-ma, ma-ma…”

The sharp needle pierces his tender
Brown flesh. He screams, “Ma-ma, Ma-ma!”
Sunshine drains from emerald eyes into slo-
mo replays like red flags thrown through the
Rest of his life…

After 54 days Miguel’s reunited with his Mommy.
She searches scabies and lice for emerald sunshine,
Finding busted windows where a tortured soul and
Nightmares reside profitably: Childcare provided by
Bad Hombres—
drug dealers
and rapists…

© 2018. Raymond Nat Turner, The Town Crier. All Rights Reserved.

Raymond Nat Turner is an acclaimed poet and performing artist. Find much more of his work at http://upsurgejazz.com.

Central America

Do you need and appreciate Black Agenda Report articles? Please click on the DONATE icon, and help us out, if you can.


More Stories


  • Anthony Karefa Rogers-Wright
    From Kente Cloths to Keffiyehs: The Legacy of Liberal Gaslighting Continues
    28 Aug 2024
    The Democratic Party's political strategy amounts to nothing more than doublespeak and a consistent denial of the reality we see before us. The DNC was a case study of how shameless the…
  • Black Alliance For Peace
    AFRICOM Watch Bulletin #53
    28 Aug 2024
    The Alliance of Sahel States is still developing but offers hope for Africans around the world. The growth of the confederation through trade and new alliances and the potential to officially…
  • Erica Caines
    Selective Democracy: U.S. Hegemony and Global Consequences
    28 Aug 2024
    The United States hides behind the facade of democracy to obscure the many contradictions of its domestic and foreign policy. The Democratic Party specifically peddles this lie about using democracy…
  • Julia Kassem
    The Uncommitted Movement is Uncommitted to Resistance, Committed to the Establishment!
    28 Aug 2024
    Uncommitted Movement leaders numerous times openly endorsed Harris, whose Zionist and equally genocidal track record and policies are clear and have been throughout her career.
  • Alan MacLeod
    From Fight the Power to Work for It: Chuck D, Public Enemy and How the CIA Neutralized Rap
    28 Aug 2024
    Chuck D was once seen as a rapper with the politics to back up his lyrics. But in recent years he has thrown his hat in the ring with the Department of State, acting as a willing agent of the U.S.…
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us