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


  • Ferdinand Ibebuchi
    From East to West Africa: The People Are Uprising against Colonial Oppression and Corruption
    07 Aug 2024
    Waves of uprisings are spreading across the African continent and the masses are demanding freedom from imperialist powers and the comprador leaders that enable their ongoing exploitation. There are…
  • The Editors
    Black Left Critique of Kamala Harris
    07 Aug 2024
    Immediately after Joe Biden announced that he would not seek re-election and instead endorsed Kamala Harris, she was anointed as the Democratic Party presidential nominee with little analysis of her…
  • Linah Alsaafin
    War on Gaza: Two Al Jazeera journalists were killed - and the West is silent
    07 Aug 2024
    Israel's slaughter of media workers should ignite outrage and condemnation across the industry. But because they were Palestinian, the world looked away.
  • Ramzy Baroud
    ‘Watering down’ Genocide: No More Moral Compromises on Palestine, Please
    07 Aug 2024
    To further expose western duplicity in Gaza, we must learn to speak with no reservations, no matter the restrictions on the pro-Palestine voice or the censorship on social media.
  • Arnold August
    Venezuelan National Electoral Council (CNE): Its Origins and Contemporary Importance
    07 Aug 2024
    The 2024 elections in Venezuela are a demonstration of U.S. counterrevolutionary tactics. The right wing opposition, supported by the U.S., stubbornly proclaimed the elections to be a sham months in…
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us