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


  • Congress members
    Margaret Kimberley, BAR Executive Editor and Senior Columnist
    Illegal Orders, Liberal Hypocrisy, and Fake Outrage
    26 Nov 2025
    Democrats recruit military veterans and former intelligence agency operatives to run for office to prove their pro-war credentials. A contrived fight with Donald Trump shouldn’t fool anyone.
  • ​​​​​​​ Ajamu Baraka, BAR editor and columnist
    United Nations Security Council Resolution on Gaza is a Surrender to U.S. Led Global Fascism
    26 Nov 2025
    By approving a U.S. "peace plan" that legitimizes genocide and ends the right to resist, the United Nations Security Council has not just failed Palestine—it has actively consolidated a new era of…
  • Editors, The Black Agenda Review
    EXCERPT: Die Nigger, Die! H. Rap Brown, 1969
    26 Nov 2025
    “Blackness alone is not revolutionary.”
  • Ann Garrison, BAR Contributing Editor
    The United Arab Emirates Use a Black Sport to Whitewash a Genocide in Africa
    26 Nov 2025
    National Basketball Association (NBA) players are 70-75% Black, so the game is commonly referred to as “a Black sport.” Now the United Arab Emirates are using it to whitewash a genocide in Africa.
  • Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
    Blues for belligerent blonde Lil Eva Braun
    26 Nov 2025
    "Blues for belligerent blonde Lil Eva Braun" is the latest from BAR's Poet-in-Residence.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us