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
  • omnibus

The Town Crier’s Big Tooth Fund (For Drs. Rosenthal, Sapir and Ferdowsi)
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
23 Jun 2021
🖨️ Print Article
The Town Crier’s Big Tooth Fund (For Drs. Rosenthal, Sapir and Ferdowsi)
The Town Crier’s Big Tooth Fund (For Drs. Rosenthal, Sapir and Ferdowsi)

"From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs…” —Karl Marx

Reclined in my dentist’s chair, daydreaming in
Numbers: #s 13, 15, 18, 19— “5 on # 13; 7 on # 15;
5 on # 18; 7 on # 19—“ Problematic, impacted,
subtracted, divided—fractured, cracked numbers…
Unequal distal-lingual locations of class struggle;
where whirring drills and best shots stand down
Awaiting orders of statesmen long dead. I realize
glory days of my smile may be numbered, since
Sticker shock causes death under capitalism…

Reclined in my dentist’s chair, flashbacks from
warehouse worker-janitor-library worker life
whizz by… Surviving on years of poetry wages;
Years of “uninsured” low wealth; Years of popcorn 
cracks and fractures in dimly lit theaters. Years of 
cruisin’ Harlem’s Sugar Hill for what a friend’s 
Mom calls: “Coffee AND…” Coffee AND coffee cake;
Coffee AND cake; Coffee AND cookies, donuts—Coffee 
AND brownies from bodegas open 24/7 when breaking 
from Big Apple writing wars and crowned Cultural Worker

Reclined in my dentist’s chair, titanium thoughts 
sniping bullshit slogans like: “Build back better!”
Rewinding fierce firefights for universal health-
care for all: Like W and Schmuck Cheney before—
Boss Tweet and Schmo Biden after—
The Drone Ranger smothered it with
‘Surges,’ ‘signature strikes’ and boots on the ground

Reclined in my dentist’s chair, chuckling, thinking of
how I’d look—eyes bugged out—cowering, trembling 
in the corner, babbling: “Teeth don’t fail me now…”  
I remind myself, “It’s not personal, it’s business…” And
Relapse into a deep state of reasonableness, demanding the 
Impossible: Dental Care sleazy senators filibustering voting
rights receive…Dental Care corrupt congressmen with kick-
back-stuffed jackets get…Dental Care killer cops bending badges
Celebrating kills get…

© 2021. Raymond Nat Turner, The Town Crier. All Rights Reserved.

https://gofund.me/ef0f14a1

Raymond Nat Turner is an accomplished poet and performing artist, and an official of the National Writers Union. Find more of his work at http://upsurgejazz.com

COMMENTS?

Please join the conversation on Black Agenda Report's Facebook page at http://facebook.com/blackagendareport

Or, you can comment by emailing us at comments@blackagendareport.com

poetry

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


Related Stories

Editors, The Black Agenda Review
POEM: Poem for Walter Rodney, Edward Kamau Brathwaite, 1981  
11 June 2025
“any where or world where there is love there is the sky and its blue free
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
A few lines for the Poet Ojenke...
21 May 2025
RIP: Rise In Poetics to Ra
Editors, The Black Agenda Review
POEM: Reflections after the June 12th March of Disarmament, Sonia Sanchez, 1982
18 December 2024
“I have come to you tonite not just for the stoppage
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
Love My Black Job
11 September 2024
Love my Black Job— Black Student Union Job! Hired at L.A. City College As “The Peoples Poet!”
Editors, The Black Agenda Review
POEM: Enemy of the Sun, Samih al-Qasim, 1970
29 May 2024
Read against the terrible incineration of Rafah today, this poem of resistance and refusal, by Pa
Image of Refaat Alareer sitting in a crowd of graduates
Editors, The Black Agenda Review
POEM: If I Must Die, Refaat Alareer, 2023
13 December 2023
Palestinian poet Refaat Alareer, a martyr of zionist state genocidal violence, has left us with a tale of resistance and hope.
Protest for Palestine at the White House
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
Trigger Warning
22 November 2023
Trigger Warning Palestine’s the Answer— What was the Question?
Another June 1
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
Another June 1
07 June 2023
                                       
BAR Book Forum: Jon Jon Moore’s “The Calling: Poems”
Roberto Sirvent, BAR Book Forum Editor
BAR Book Forum: Jon Jon Moore’s “The Calling: Poems”
16 February 2022
In this series, we ask acclaimed authors to answer five questions about their book.
Our ‘democracy’
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
Our ‘democracy’
23 July 2021
Shangri-La—untaxed, socially-distanced champagne- caviar, Cayman Island, yacht crowds who

More Stories


  • Alliance to protect Khalif's law
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    New York Politicians Prepare to Weaken Kalief's Law
    18 Apr 2025
    We are joined by Conrad Blackburn, policy counsel and staff attorney in the Criminal Defense Practice of the Bronx Defenders. The Bronx Defenders is a public defender non-profit organization and a…
  • Anthony Rogers-Wright
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    "Abundance" and the Democrats' Neo-Liberalism
    18 Apr 2025
    We’re joined by Anthony Rogers-Wright, a Black Agenda Report contributor and a climate/environmental liberation and racial justice advocate, writer, and policy expert. He is an active member of the…
  • Margaret Kimberley, BAR Executive Editor and Senior Columnist
    Western Nations Join the United States in Repressing Dissent
    16 Apr 2025
    Trump is not unique in the collective west. As the crisis of capitalism deepens, "democratic" states intensify repression and criminalize dissent.
  • Editors, The Black Agenda Review
    ESSAY: Racism and the American University, Addison Gayle, Jr., 1971
    16 Apr 2025
    The appraisal of American universities as liberal institutions remains one of the purest examples of the elasticity of the English language.
  • nato protest
    Ann Garrison, BAR Contributing Editor
    NATO Was Founded to Crush Communist, Socialist, and Anti-colonial Movements Worldwide
    16 Apr 2025
    NATO was never a good idea gone wrong. It was founded to crush communist, socialist, and anti-colonial movements in Europe and around the world.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us