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

Oh, what a night…
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
21 Dec 2016
🖨️ Print Article

by BAR poet in residence Raymond Nat Turner

Our poet shares a scene from a late nite NYC subway ride home from this years' holiday party of the National Writers Union.

Oh, what a night…

by BAR poet in residence Raymond Nat Turner

“Oh, what a night…”

Red letters emblazoning big white cake

“Workers of the WORD, Unite!”

150 small, cloth flags hanging

from the ceiling, above our food,

Representing places, spaces

Working-class brothers and sisters gather

Breaking bread, sipping wine, gulping water…

Making memories, visualizing peace—better lives—

Not children’s, grandchildren’s broken, bloody bodies…

“Oh, what a night…”

Our NWU holiday party

Wild women of the WORD—

Friendships of fifty years

Talking “class struggle”, “socialism”

A woman, UAW leader, pops in

Announcing victory:

Research and Teaching Assistants

Won unionization at Columbia!

“Oh, what a night…”

Six bottles of sparking cider lighter,

On the A Train, heading

Home to Harlem in a hurry

Brothers behind me loud talkin’—

Not dissin’ or arguing—more like preachin’

To the choir

Brother One’s shouting ‘bout Cuba’s

schools and literacy compared to here.

Brother Two’s chimin’ in ‘bout the Bay of Pigs,

Allen Dulles, killing of Kennedy— just before

Brother Three jumps to billionaire appointees

Only in New York!

“Oh, what a night…”

Never mind three delays

between 34th and 125th

Couldn’t take it any longer—

Got up, got some of that WORD:

“Is this ‘The Friendship Train’

Listen to us—woop-woop—…doin’ our thing?

Y’all scaring me and folks up front with

that revolutionary foolishness!”

Smiling eyes, belly laugh betrayed me—but

Crescendo “Oooh!” response to my call:

“Hell, folks been asleep 8 years!”

Plus, pregnant pause, birthed this poem

Granting you permission to: pimp-slap, kick

fear-mongers to the curb; they squander

Seeds of struggle, rays of resistance… Listen to

Lil’ David’s lesson: Goliath’s gotta bring ass to kick ass…

Poet’s Note:

NWU is National Writers Union

UAW is United Auto Workers

Raymond Nat Turner © 2016 All Rights Reserved

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


More Stories


  • Hands off Uhuru
    Uhuru 3 Free Speech Trial of the Century; Week One reveals the government has nothing!
    11 Sep 2024
    The first week of the Uhuru trial has come to a close. Already, the U.S. has demonstrated the weakness of its case, revealing that it is nothing more than a sham intended to set a precedent…
  • Jesús Chucho García , Clau O'Brien Moscoso
    AfroDescendientes En Acción 7 Aug '24
    11 Sep 2024
    While the far-right attacks in Venezuela backed by imperialist forces may have died down, the threat the opposition poses still is very present. Despite this, Venezuelan people will continue to push…
  • Carrie Zaremba
    U.S. Universities Spent the Summer Strategizing to Suppress Student Activism. Here is their Plan.
    11 Sep 2024
    Schools across the U.S. have altered policies and even landscapes in an attempt to make a repeat of last spring’s Palestine protests impossible. The result is a far-reaching war on free expression…
  • South Africa at the ICJ
    Palestine Chronicle Staff
    Israel Lobbying US Congress to Pressure South Africa to Drop ICJ Genocide Case – Report
    11 Sep 2024
    Israel once again is attempting to circumvent international law by appealing to the U.S.
  • Willow Naomi Curry
    Testifying at the Democratic National Convention
    11 Sep 2024
    60 years ago, the Mississippi Freedom Democrats took a stand at the Democratic National Convention, bodily challenging the racist party and the violent voter repression of Black people. Years…
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us