by BAR poet-in-residence Raymond Nat Turner
“Blak Lifes Mattur, yeah, but dey’s unnecessary
Blak Lifes Mattur, ‘til Friday de 20 ob January
My Wise Country Cousin on Miss Hillree an de Matter ob Blak Lives
by BAR poet-in-residence Raymond Nat Turner
Now, Miss Hillree mean as de day is long—
Yeah, she lak two lef shooz, she so wrong,
Don’ know if she mo mean den she shady
Do know dat she ackin lak de ‘Ion Ladee’
Lak de nukler vershun ob Hellen ob Troy
‘Membur how she dun dat ol’ Kadaffy boy?
Den crow’d: “We came, we saw, he died!”
Lawd, dats one time—she ain’t nebber lied.
Hit Hayshun helpurs in de head wit hosshooz
Jus’‘cause she caut dem lissenin’ to de blues;
Head-butted Pootin at a big G-Sebben meetin’
Den gib sidekick Tony Blare a vishus beatin’
Waterbo’d a “ghos’ detanee” fo’ sevul hours—
Den turn ‘em ova to Newlun an Sam Powurs!
Occuepyd, foldin’ up her retraktabul baton—
Seem lak she fogit dat de main mic still on:
“Blak Lifes Mattur, yeah, but dey’s unnecessary
Blak Lifes Mattur, ‘til Friday de 20 ob January—
Dey mattur afta dat, as poleez, maybe millatary,
De penitentiary, mortuary—maybe de cemetery…”
Miss Hillree jus’ de latest slick re-akkkshunary—
Dem Negroz know scam-pain lyin’s customary?
Raymond Nat Turner can be contacted at upsurgejazz.com
Raymond Nat Turner © 2015 All Rights Reserved
Senator Cory Booker’s recent 25-hour Senate speech is hailed by some as an act of resistance. Really, it exposes the moral bankruptcy of neoliberal politics, as his performative progressivism clashes…
"One Spring Day …" is the latest from BAR's Poet-in-Residence.
Donald Trump’s new “Safe and Beautiful” task force is little more than a thinly veiled assault on Black working-class communities in Southeast D.C., accelerating policing, displacement, and white…
As Ecuador heads into a pivotal runoff election, left-wing candidate Luisa González emerges as the favorite—but the shadow of foreign interference and political violence looms large. In an exclusive…
The world has lost a champion of justice with the passing of Mario Joseph, a Haitian human rights lawyer who spent nearly three decades fighting for victims of state violence, cholera negligence, and…
