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


  • Black Agenda Radio for Week of November 25, 2019
    Black Agenda Radio with Nellie Bailey and Glen Ford
    Black Agenda Radio for Week of November 25, 2019
    26 Nov 2019
    Don’t Let Democrats Water Down Our Demands
  • Democrats Play at Impeachment, But are Serious About War
    Glen Ford , BAR executive editor
    Democrats Play at Impeachment, But are Serious About War
    26 Nov 2019
    The impeachment hearings won’t result in ousting Trump, but they scream everlasting conflict with Russia and anybody that does not bow down to American exceptionalism
  • New York Activists Battle Police Brutality Underground: Shannon Jones Speaks
    Black Agenda Radio with Nellie Bailey and Glen Ford
    New York Activists Battle Police Brutality Underground: Shannon Jones Speaks
    26 Nov 2019
    Over 1,000 protesters recently confronted police repression and high subway fares at demonstrations in Brooklyn, under the banner “F.T.P.” Shannon Jones, of Bronxites for NYPD
  • Coup Plotters in Venezuela Have no Significant Social Base
    Black Agenda Radio with Nellie Bailey and Glen Ford
    Coup Plotters in Venezuela Have no Significant Social Base
    26 Nov 2019
    “It’s pretty obvious that there is no significant force that wants to overthrow” the government in Venezuela, said Dario Azzelini, a visiting fellow in Latin American Studies at Cornell University
  • Margaret Kimberley: US Government and Media Collude in Propaganda
    Black Agenda Radio with Nellie Bailey and Glen Ford
    Margaret Kimberley: US Government and Media Collude in Propaganda
    26 Nov 2019
    The US and corporate media lie about Washington’s regime change projects around the world and about the endemic theft of Black votes at home, said BAR senior columnist Margaret Kimberl
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us