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

Waiters
Bill Quigley
02 Sep 2009
🖨️ Print Article
upsurge2
by Raymond Nat Turner
 
Ever attended a sumptuous repast where everything you wanted was out of reach, unavailable, "off the table".  To Raymond Nat Turner, poet-impresario of Oakland's UpSurge Jazz, this sounds suspiciously familiar.  Could it happen??

                   Waiters

                (For Caffie, Cindy and Cynthia)

Suppose… the state was a king-sized ATM and money-

Laundering machine for Wall Street Gangs—ludicrous

Criminal enterprise code-named Café Attitude, posing as

Five-star restaurant, where greasy-palmed waiters with Enron

Ethics and Haliburton hands, strut like star-spangled peacocks?

Suppose… armed to the teeth torturers strong-armed customers,

Premium prices for self-service, while customers’ wishes and

Suggestions were 86ed—outrageous restaurant of overbearing

Waiters, browbeating customers: “You’ve paid, now make us serve you!”

Impeachment, please

“Off the table!”

End of Iraq war, please

“Off the table!”

Afghanistan Kibosh?

“Off the table!”

 

Prosecuted Torturers, rare

“Off the table!”

A side of Single Payer, please

“Off the table!”

Employee Free Choice…

“Off the table!”

Amnesty For Undocumented…

“Off the table!”

Suppose… confused customers ask, “Well, what’s on the table?”

As sullen waiters, grab their crotches, and shout in unison:

“Order up!”

Stuffed Swiss Bank Accounts on Lobbyist Loaf;

Cayman Island TARP in Shadow Government Gravy;

“Order up!”

Sustainable-War Cash Cow with Supplemental Soup;

War Profiteer Pork with Cold Cash Garnish…

“Order up!”

Rotten Red Herring in Homeland Security Sauce;

Disaster Capitalist Crepes with Insurance Gangster Kebobs;

“Order up!”

Bi-Partisan Pork Stew with Arthur Anderson Cooked-Books;

Hot Air Poppycock prepared with Palm Grease…

“Order up!”

Layoff Lasagna with Fresh Foreclosure Salad;

Tighten Your Belt Tuna Melt Po’Boys ;

“Order up!”

Fluffy, Fox Mumbo-Jumbo with Race Card Rice;

Re-Heated Hope Succotash with A Shovel of Salt…

“Order up!”

Stolen Sweat Souffle with White Phosphorus Puree;

Crushed National Liberation Movement Coup-Coup—

Drizzled with Warm, Fresh Blood and Brine of Tears;

“Order up!”

Our Desserts are to die for…

Ton-Ton-Free, Thin –Crust Haitian Mud Pies…

“Order up!”

Af-Pak Pudding with Drone Strike Scones, light,

Flaky, Missile-Studded Scones served with a

Warm Creamy, Vanilla Collateral Damage Sauce;

“Order up!”

High Value Targets served on warm, moist beds of

Blood and guts, tender chunks of flesh in beguiling

Blood and Brain Batter, served on Pulverized Rubble—yum!

“Order up!”

Guantanamo Gelato served on Sheriff Joe’s Sweet Bread;

Waterboard Wedges served with Force Fed Fudge;

“Order up!”

Three Drug Cocktail Capitalist Punishment Punch;

Katrina Strange Fruit Flavored Sorbet; Brownie is extra…

“Order up!”

Suppose… customers, finally, dash for the door, and

Shove aside waiters demanding tips— and 30 pieces of silver?

 

Raymond Nat Turner © 2009 All Rights Reserved

Raymond Nat Turner is a Bay Area poet and impresario of UpSurge Jazz.  Visit them at http://upsurgejazz.com, and pick up one of their CDs.

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


More Stories


  • Prisoners and Coronavirus
    Noelle Hanrahan
    Prisoners and Coronavirus
    18 Mar 2020
    Prisoners and guards are at much greater risk than the general population. “Prison health care systems are not prepared to deal with this epidemic.”
  • COVID-19: The Monster is at the Door
    Mike Davis
    COVID-19: The Monster is at the Door
    18 Mar 2020
    The danger to the global poor has been almost totally ignored by journalists and Western governments.
  • Black Agenda Radio for Week of March 16, 2020
    Black Agenda Radio with Nellie Bailey and Glen Ford
    Black Agenda Radio for Week of March 16, 2020
    16 Mar 2020
    Black Misleaders Put Their Own Class Interest Above Black Health
  • Racial Voyeurism and Light-Skinned Black Babies
    Black Agenda Radio with Nellie Bailey and Glen Ford
    Racial Voyeurism and Light-Skinned Black Babies
    16 Mar 2020
    Black babies born to Black mothers are often treated by media as “miraculous, or a gift from God,” writes Sonita Moss, a University of Pennsylvania Fulbright Scholar and co-au
  • Black Voters Favor Medicare for All, But Think Biden is “Electable”
    Black Agenda Radio with Nellie Bailey and Glen Ford
    Black Voters Favor Medicare for All, But Think Biden is “Electable”
    16 Mar 2020
    “In all the states that have voted so far, Medicare for All, which Biden is explicitly against, wins a majority of voters” in exit polls, said Branko Marcetic, journalist and
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us