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

How will we pay for it?
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
12 Jan 2022
🖨️ Print Article
How will we pay for it?
M. Wuerker POLITICO Universal Uclick

                                                                                            How will we pay for it?

How will we pay for it?
How will we pay for it:
59 missile shooting spree—
$110, 000 a pop?
Mother Of All Bombs?
A boondoggle bomber?
800 bases in faraway places?
States with more warheads than congress members? A modern-medieval torture
chamber on foreign soil? A weapons lab disguised as an apartheid state?

How will we pay for it?
How will we pay for it:
Surgical strikes on hospitals—
renaming babies Collateral Damage?
Orders to “Light ‘em up!”?
Lethal gifts dropped on wedding parties?
‘Taking out’ other nations’ generals?
Swapping strongmen for wrong men?

How will we pay for it?
How will we pay for it:
Drinking water juiced with jet fuel?
Freedom to breathe blue-black air?
Fracking fluid flavored springs?
Freedom of fires gorging themselves year round?
Freedom of floods to wash away labor’s fruits?

It’s not neurosurgery or rocket science—
and I’m no genius but— I know-I know
I know-I know-I know-I know-I know-I know…
I know-I know-I know-I know-I know-I know…
Tents, tarps, cardboard mattresses—cancer,
Diabetes, tooth decay are one way we pay—
Feel free to fill in anything I’ve missed…
 

© 2022. Raymond Nat Turner, The Town Crier. All Rights Reserved.

Former forklift driver/warehouse worker/janitor, Raymond Nat Turner is a NYC poet;  BAR's Poet-in-Residence; and founder/co-leader of the jazz-poetry ensemble UpSurge!NYC. You can Vote for his work at:  

GoFundMe: https://www.gofundme.com/f/the-town-criers-big-tooth-fund

PayPal: paypal.me/towncrierRNT

Military Industrial Complex

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


Related Stories

Biden has Money for War, but Not for the Poor
Danny Haiphong, BAR Contributing Editor
Biden has Money for War, but Not for the Poor
23 March 2022
Joe Biden and congress have plenty of money for the military industrial complex, but only austerity for the people.
US War Lobby Fuels Conflict in Russia, Ukraine, and Syria: Ex-Pentagon Advisor
Aaron Maté
US War Lobby Fuels Conflict in Russia, Ukraine, and Syria: Ex-Pentagon Advisor
12 January 2022
A former senior advisor at the Pentagon confirms what was obvious to those who pay attention.
Raytheon’s Raven caws “War—Evermore!” Not wind beneath Negroz wings…
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
Raytheon’s Raven caws “War—Evermore!” Not wind beneath Negroz wings…
29 September 2021
Afghan Crisis Must End America’s Empire of War, Corruption and Poverty
Medea Benjamin and Nicolas J. S. Davies  
Afghan Crisis Must End America’s Empire of War, Corruption and Poverty
01 September 2021
The U.S.

More Stories


  • BAR Book Forum: Kyle T. Mays’ “An Afro-BAR Book Forum: Kyle T. Mays’ “An Afro-Indigenous History of the United States” Indigenous History of the United States”
    Roberto Sirvent, BAR Book Forum Editor
    BAR Book Forum: Kyle T. Mays’ “An Afro-Indigenous History of the United States”
    02 Nov 2021
    In this series, we ask acclaimed authors to answer five questions about their book. This week’s featured author is Kyle T. Mays.
  • Historic Landmark Decision Gives David Win Over Goliath: Maryland Court Halts Sale of Moses African Cemetery by Developer
    Dr. Marsha Coleman-Adebayo, BAR editor and columnist
    Historic Decision Gives David Win Over Goliath: Maryland Court Halts Sale of Moses African Cemetery by Developer
    02 Nov 2021
    A judge has ruled in favor of the community fighting to prevent a real estate developer from destroying an African American cemetery in Bethesda, Maryland.
  • Why Black Revolutionaries Must Stand with the People of Nicaragua
    Netfa Freeman
    Why Black Revolutionaries Must Stand with the People of Nicaragua
    02 Nov 2021
    While the US government haggles over the cost of providing basic human rights to its citizens, it is also targeting countries like Nicaragua that struggle to guarantee these rights to all of it
  • Sudanese March Yet Again, Demanding Full-Fledged Civilian Rule
    Pavan Kulkarni
    Sudanese March Yet Again, Demanding Full-Fledged Civilian Rule
    02 Nov 2021
    The people of Sudan are protesting against the US and NATO trained coup leaders. They demand civilian rule and the rights to self-determination guaranteed under international law.
  • The United States is Organizing a Color Revolution in Cuba for November 15
    Alan MacLeod
    The United States is Organizing a Color Revolution in Cuba for November 15
    02 Nov 2021
    The U.S. continues its brazen attacks against the Cuban people, having announced its role in upcoming "protests" taking place on November 15.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us