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
"Short word problems: do the math" is the latest from BAR's Poet-in-Residence.
On May 30, 2026, a Celebration of the Life and Legacy of Assata Shakur was held at the Riverside Church in New York City. Dhoruba Bin Wahad, co-founder of the Black Liberation Army, wrote these words…
Trinidad and Tobago's Prime Minister says she backs Trump's conservatism and capitalism, and the criminal case against a hairdresser paralyzed in a police shooting shows exactly what that partnership…
Former Bolivian president Evo Morales Ayma spoke with Black Agenda Report correspondent Clau O’Brien Moscoso.
The World Cup is meant to be a celebration of global unity, not a propaganda shield for a superpower waging genocide abroad and running detention gulags on its own soil.
