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


  • The recent coup in Guinea exemplifies the damage done by European colonizers and the U.S. Africa Command.
    Netfa Freeman
    Guinea and the Military Coup Incubator, AFRICOM
    08 Sep 2021
    The recent coup in Guinea exemplifies the damage done by European colonizers and the U.S. Africa Command.
  • The African Union, Israel and the Futility of Appeasement
    Marwan Bishara
    The African Union, Israel and the Futility of Appeasement
    08 Sep 2021
    The AU should be leading the fight against racism, not cozying up to racist regimes.
  • First National Congress of Socialist Movement of Ghana Charts a New Course for the Region
    Pavan Kulkarni
    First National Congress of Socialist Movement of Ghana Charts a New Course for the Region
    08 Sep 2021
    The First National Congress of the Socialist Movement of Ghana (SMG) – previously the Socialist Forum of Ghana (SFG) – was held from July 30 to August 1 in Winneba, a town in the country’s Cent
  • Louisiana Activists Mobilize to Prevent “Shock Doctrine” Policies in Wake of Ida
    Frances Madeson
    Louisiana Activists Mobilize to Prevent “Shock Doctrine” Policies in Wake of Ida
    07 Sep 2021
    (This article originally appeared in Truthout.)
  • Nicaragua in the Crosshairs of Empire
    Netfa Freeman , Danny Haiphong and Margaret Kimberley
    Nicaragua in the Crosshairs of Empire
    01 Sep 2021
    Danny Haiphong and Margaret Kimberley are joined by Netfa Freeman of the Black Alliance for Peace and Pan-African Community Action.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us