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

Think…
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
06 Jan 2021
Think…

Think of peoples having the most
tanks, the most drones, the most
missiles, bombs, aircraft carriers, 
guns, ammo and night vision goggles

Think of peoples having the slowest
trains, slowest internet; worst health-
care
the most citizens locked up and un-
housed
the most citizens killed by ‘their’ police…

Think of peoples having the most un-
tested, infected—the most dead from
a virus they treated with laws of the 
Market…

Think of these peoples thousands of miles
away believing their ‘freedoms’ flow from
our pipelines…

Think of stone-cold continuity of their
corporate-sponsored Kabuki Theater—
Mascots, flaming ‘feet to the fire’ Kente
Cloth dialogue…much ado about nada…

Think 800 bipartisan bases from faraway
places—lily pads frogs spring into
Action from— policing our pipelines, ports,
mines, streets, our peoples—our elections…

Think of Chinese bases encircling Chicago;
Afghan, Pakistani bases punctuating Philly;
Indian, Nicaraguan bases nestled near New York;
Iranian, Albanian bases peppering L.A.—SF Bay

Think of those peoples’ war criminals
wilding out; Scratching each others’
backs; doing ‘The Monkey—‘ “Not looking
back…” Think three branches of monkeys—
regime after bipartisan regime which
Sees no Evil; Hears no Evil; Speaks no Evil…
of Empire…Ever…

© 2020. Raymond Nat Turner, The Town Crier. All Rights Reserved.

* Q

Cool as Bebop on the North Pole—
philosopher waxing in Soul
So cool his cologne was the Blues—
doubling down on Ps and Qs

A different cat in a hat
with poetic scat-a-tat-tat—
So out he was in—then back out 
Sprinkling poetry about…

Once there were 4 
cool cats
Then 3
and now 2—
Apollo’s drafting heavily 
from that crew…

First he drafts Reg—and now he drafts Q—
what was once a foursome is now two—
Cat’s breaking up that ol’ gang of mine
for ancestral space with no redline… 

I celebrate Q with my lil’ rhyme—
Today’s all we have— “Now’s The Time!”
Blessings to the family and crew—
Love you, man, and bid you adieu…

       * Harlem Poet/activist/organizer Q..R. Hand, Jr.

© 2020. Raymond Nat Turner, The Town Crier. All Rights Reserved.       

BAR’s poet in residence Raymond Nat Turner is an accomplished performing artist. You can find much more of his work at https://www.youtube.com/user/zigilow

COMMENTS?

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

poetry

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

Trending

Elizabeth Warren Wants Green Bombs, not a Green New Deal
Parallels Between Black and Palestinian Struggles
Cory Booker Hates Public Schools
Bill Cosby Should Have Been Denounced by Black America Long Ago
The Black Wall Around Barack Obama: Who Does It Protect Him Against?
How Complacency, Complicity of Black Misleadership Class Led to Supreme Court Evisceration of the Voting Rights Act

Related Stories

Long Live the Legacy of Lawrence Ferlinghetti!
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
Long Live the Legacy of Lawrence Ferlinghetti!
03 March 2021
Ferlinghetti might have been God ‘cause he almost lived forever; and Jersey Boys—Allen and Amiri—
He’s under suspicion…
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
He’s under suspicion…
24 February 2021
The rioters all knew him— it had to be an inside job— ‘cause to a man they spoke to him by name as they
What did low Barr know?
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
What did low Barr know?
17 February 2021
Liars, liars your loaded dice/tilted table theater’s on fire— But prosecutors and gas-lighting lawyers concur on  Empire… 
First 100 Daze: A ‘new’ dance craze
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
First 100 Daze: A ‘new’ dance craze
27 January 2021
Everybody’s wild ‘bout this ‘new’ dance craze— this lewd, crude dance called “The 1st 100 Daze…”
mashing the state— Kristallnacht-style
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
mashing the state— Kristallnacht-style
20 January 2021
Kristallnacht came casting lead ballots, overthrowing Black elected officials and Massacring those that VOTED for them— 
This is what hypocrisy looks like…
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
This is what hypocrisy looks like…
13 January 2021
“It's like writing history with lightning.“ — Woodrow Wilson on Birth of A Nation
Imagine: The Town Crier’s Cabinet Selections
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
Imagine: The Town Crier’s Cabinet Selections
16 December 2020
Cut plastic cuffs from imaginations— Dream larger in dire situations… IMAGINE every cook governing—
$election postmortem 
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
$election postmortem 
10 December 2020
It was the Latino Vote… No, it was the Latinix vote! No, it was Black Women! No, it was LGBTQ+ Black Women!
People Power (Or 30 min. men and women every 4 yrs?)
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
People Power (Or 30 min. men and women every 4 yrs?)
02 December 2020
The People earned a dancing in the streets day, horn honking, slogan shouting day—collective sigh/exhale
Endangering species… 
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
Endangering species… 
25 November 2020
Endangering species— First Negroz and wild Karens in power—members of the Strong- arm Williams-Thom-ass Clarence-led

More Stories


  • Against Big Tech's Algorithmic Cancel Culture
    Ann Garrison, BAR Contributing Editor
    Against Big Tech's Algorithmic Cancel Culture
    03 Mar 2021
    Project Censored Host Mickey Huff predicted that #CancelCulture warriors would be calling stations to complain about his opposition to Big Tech censorship, writes Ann Garrison.
  • Long Live the Legacy of Lawrence Ferlinghetti!
    Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
    Long Live the Legacy of Lawrence Ferlinghetti!
    03 Mar 2021
    Ferlinghetti might have been God ‘cause he almost lived forever; and Jersey Boys—Allen and Amiri— lyricized Coltrane’s “Welcome” and
  • Cornel West: Palestine Is a “Taboo Issue Among Certain Circles in High Places”
    Azad Essa
    Cornel West: Palestine Is a “Taboo Issue Among Certain Circles in High Places”
    03 Mar 2021
    West, considered one of America's foremost intellectuals, said he is confident that it is his criticism of Israel that cost him tenure at Harvard.
  • Letters from Our Readers
    Jahan Choudhry, BAR Comments Editor
    Letters from Our Readers
    03 Mar 2021
    This week the blackout in Texas, the recent film on Fred Hampton, and Democracy Now’s international coverage were on your minds.
  • BAR Book Forum: Short Meditations on Christina Sharpe’s "In the Wake" 
    Imani A. Wadud
    BAR Book Forum: Short Meditations on Christina Sharpe’s "In the Wake" 
    03 Mar 2021
    We adapt to make life livable, to uplift ourselves, and through us we show our community that we are prepared for the mysteries of what the day will bring.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us