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

I’m just a patsy; Don’t let me be patsy…
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
29 Mar 2017
🖨️ Print Article

by BAR poet in residence Raymond Nat Turner

Some are called for the job, while others are chosen. Some folks practice and study and audition, while others stumble into it blindly. Some are coerced and some more are prepped and primed and meticulously prepared for their few minutes of infamy...

I’m just a patsy; Don’t let me be patsy…

by BAR poet in residence Raymond Nat Turner

by BAR poet in residence Raymond Nat Turner

Some are called for the job, some others are chosen. Some folks study and auditiion, while others stumble into it blindly. Some are prepped anbd primed and meticulously prepared....

’m just a patsy; Don’t let me be patsy…

by BAR poet in residence Raymond Nat Turner

yes,
I
Plunged the
black blade 18”
into his brown back
repeatedly
and saw scarlet geysers spurt
familiarly

yes,
I
Traveled north to NYC
to kill black men

yes,
I
Hung with Hitlerites
in Germany
and learned to
Heil

yes,
I
Hunted rag-heads,
camel jockeys,
sand-niggers
in Afghanistan for
salary—
serving two tours
warring on terror
Perfecting
cold-blooded craft

yes,
I
was
broken
down
like legos
and built up like
an Aryan Supreme
erector set in boot camp,

yes,
I
could’ve
Killed
a bunch of
black men in
Uniform—or in
Baltimore—
had I roots there
but
I’m
just a
Patsy—
guinea pig—
like the Baltimore black boy who
Killed 2 Brooklyn cops
when Black Lives Matter
Marches
scorched streets, 170 cities

I
remember
where
Fort Detrick is
in Maryland,
but
I
have no idea
how
Neurotransmitters work;
how
Psychotropic drugs
Alter moods and
Change consciousness,

I
sought
Help
dealing with demons—
but
Demons
found funding for
dealing with me—
I’m
just a
Patsy,
don’t let me be a patsy:
Making Amerikkka great…,

Raymond Nat Turner © 2017 All Rights Reserved
Raymond Nat Turner is an acclaimed poet and performing artist.
Find much more of his work at Http://upsurgejazz.com

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


More Stories


  • ​​​​​​​ Ajamu Baraka, BAR editor and columnist , Margaret Kimberley, BAR Executive Editor and Senior Columnist
    The White Supremacist Imperative on Violence: A Black Radical Perspective on the U.S./EU/NATO Axis of Domination
    15 Jul 2026
    The U.S.-EU-NATO axis remains intact, and its commitment to militarism represents an existential threat to the world.
  • Editors, The Black Agenda Review
    DOCUMENT: “We Will Find You and We Will Kill You”: United States Counterterrorism Strategy, 2026
    15 Jul 2026
    “Americans should be safe to live their lives without the fear of terror attacks, the threat of Jihadists, the flooding of our communities with deadly drugs at the hands of foreign narcoterrorists,…
  • Anthony Karefa Rogers-Wright
    Race Trading Race Traitors, Identity Reductionism, and the New Nadir of the Democrat Party Establishment
    15 Jul 2026
    The social democrat wing gains in strength but establishment Democrats continue their allegiance to the donor class.
  • Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
    Declaration of Independence (for Donald "Duck" Bailey)
    15 Jul 2026
    "Declaration of Independence for (Donald Duck Bailey)" is the latest from BAR's Poet-in-Residence.
  • Black Alliance For Peace
    The Anti Fascist Football Coalition Joins the Call for the Remaining Teams in the World Cup to Withdraw and Urges People of Conscience to Fight Back Against U.S. Fascism
    15 Jul 2026
    FIFA allowed a nation that commits genocide and runs detention gulags to host the World Cup, and the Anti-Fascist Football Coalition says staying in the tournament is no longer an option.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us