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

Another June 1
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
07 Jun 2023
🖨️ Print Article
Another June 1
(Photo: Twitter @EllenMBlalock)

                                                                                              Another June 1

 

Another June 1. And I’m

Here. Vertical. Grateful.

Thankful.

…Didn’t expect to see a score…

Another June 1. And I possess

Poetic License to

Try and Trane—Practice in Empire and

Golden States. Wow!

The poems are not perfect. Not precious.

Still TSA-ok. Still not worthy of banning

in Sunshine, Magnolia, or Lone Star States.

Another June 1. And I’m proud

that a Brooklynite now 99; former IBM—

Italian Business Men—employee christened me

“The Town Crier.” “The Peoples Poet” sobriquet

Garnered in L.A.

Another June 1. And I’m proud

The poems still have blistered feet. Are still lunch

bucket, hardhat, steel-toe. Are still for food chain folks—

Backs bent in fields.

Still for the sped-up, overworked crowd. Still for the

Shoe leather legislators—street heat senators—Good

Trouble-shooters of all hues/All seasons: Arab Spring;

George Floyd Summer; Strike-tober; Occupy/ones coming

Another June 1. And I’m proud

of metastasizing with Boss Tweet’s blitzkrieg—

‘His’140 character vowel movements. ‘His’ daily,

dirty bomb Psy-Op sorties ‘starting’ 2016.

Proud of resisting despair—dark migratory moods of

Family, friends, and community.

I’m proud the poems have short weaponized shelf lives!

Proud they are disposable. Proud they are urgent wound

Care poems. Use them! Toss them in the trash! Flush them

down your toilets! I promise they won’t clog drains or pipes…

 

Š 2023. Raymond Nat Turner, The Town Crier. All Rights Reserved.

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 and PayPal.

Black arts movement
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

Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
A few lines for the Poet Ojenke...
21 May 2025
RIP: Rise In Poetics to Ra
 BAR Book Forum: Damien M. Sojoyner’s Book, “Joy and Pain”
Roberto Sirvent, BAR Book Forum Editor
BAR Book Forum: Damien M. Sojoyner’s Book, “Joy and Pain”
11 January 2023
In this series, we ask acclaimed authors to answer five questions about their book.
POEM: There it is, Jayne Cortez, 2009
Editors, The Black Agenda Review
POEM: There it is, Jayne Cortez, 2009
19 October 2022
The late Jayne Cortez spits fire, reminding us of the need to fight, resist, organize, and unify to seize power.
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
Pigment of your Imagination: Black magic mascots, props and sops?
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
Pigment of your Imagination: Black magic mascots, props and sops?
15 July 2021
Could the pigment of your imagination cause Black magic mascots, props, sops— Black faces in high places—
A known known…
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
A known known…
08 July 2021
“…there are known knowns. There are things we know that we know. There are known
Twerkers of the World you might…(Or when they go low we get high?)
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
Twerkers of the World you might…(Or when they go low we get high?)
01 July 2021
“History repeats itself,  first as tragedy, second as farce.” —Karl Marx
The Town Crier’s Big Tooth Fund (For Drs. Rosenthal, Sapir and Ferdowsi)
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
The Town Crier’s Big Tooth Fund (For Drs. Rosenthal, Sapir and Ferdowsi)
23 June 2021
"From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs…” â€”Karl Marx
The Town Crier’s List of Who’s Who in the capitalist state machine
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
The Town Crier’s List of Who’s Who in the capitalist state machine
16 June 2021
“Ain’t no power like the power of the people— ‘cause the power of the people don’t stop!” bouncing 

More Stories


  • Black Alliance for Peace
    Afghanistan News Update #24
    20 Nov 2024
    In its usual pattern of pillaging and plundering, the U.S. seized billions of dollars of Afghanistan's assets after its withdrawal from the nation years ago. Now, the U.S. has created…
  • Black Agenda Radio
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Black Agenda Radio November 15, 2024
    15 Nov 2024
    This week, we discuss the UK, where a Black woman was chosen to lead the conservative party. First, we cover the U.S. presidential election and the angry reactions within the Black community.
  • TikTokers bragging about going to starbucks
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Black Voters Angry After Another Trump Victory
    15 Nov 2024
    Afeni provides analysis on the results of the presidential election and the reaction of many angry Black voters who have expressed reactionary and racist commentary in the wake of these results.
  • Kemi Badenoch
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Black Woman Chosen to Lead UK Conservative Party
    15 Nov 2024
    Roger McKenzie joins us to discuss Kemi Badenoch, a member of parliament in the UK, who was recently chosen to lead the Tories, the conservative party.
  • Margaret Kimberley, BAR Executive Editor and Senior Columnist
    Liberal Arrogance and Hatred on Display After Trump Victory
    13 Nov 2024
    While Donald Trump is frequently called a fascist and is even compared to Adolph Hitler, some angry democrats are engaging in their own racist and eliminationist rhetoric in the wake of his impending…
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us