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
  • omnibus

2 Poems - About How and Why Some Things Work. And Some Others Don't
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
10 May 2017
šŸ–Øļø Print Article

By BAR poet in residence Raymond Nat Turner

In two works of poetry this week, Turner offers cogent observations on two phenomena, one that pretty much works as intended, and another enterprise that despite the wishes of many consistently and predictably goes awry.

it works…

by BAR poet in residence Raymond Nat Turner

spittle trickling from
the side of his mouth,
eyes rolling round like
pinballs…in his sweat-
beaded head…

they finally found
the vein they repeatedly
punctured his pin cushion,
high fructose-fattened flesh
searching for.

writhing,
moaning, jerking,
lurching, convulsing—
primitively strapped
to their updated,
horizontal, death device
dancing an obscene,
grotesque
Arkansas Shuffle:
assembly line murder
2 persons per day—
1l—in half a week

Why such rush?
They must die before
the chemicals expire.

Who's Moving Who

by BAR poet in residence Raymond Nat Turner

High on the hog, mule-
heads and handlers meet
in a Manhattan hotel—
Operatives, confidential informants,
Mouthpieces for fruit companies
and death squads hold court—
Harnessing left motion
sliding
down
the
Hill
Feeling the Bern

Stop! In the name of love
Before you break my heart
Think it over…

The mule’s a stubborn
kinda fella—ass
with big ears that
Hear your every word,
while hiding a mind
of his own

Many men and women
moved the mule
Left—
years later, finding
They, themselves, moved
Right—
running in place…
mired in mule dung—
Who’s moving who?

Raymond Nat Turner Ā© 2017 All Rights Reserved
Raymond Nat Turner is an acclaimed poet and performance artist. Find much more of his work at

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


More Stories


  • RaĆÆs Neza Boneza
    Through an African Lens: The Israel-Iran Conflict and a Call for Peace
    16 Jul 2025
    Western cameras frame this as Israel vs. Iran—but African analysts see through the script: another case of ā€˜rules for thee, not for me’ in a system built to punish the Global South.
  • Aja Arnold
    From the Atlanta Race Massacre to Cop City: The AJC Incites Harm
    16 Jul 2025
    The Atlanta Journal-Constitution never stopped printing racist lies—it just upgraded its fonts.
  • Ramzy Baroud
    The corporate giants fueling Israel’s war machine
    16 Jul 2025
    Francesca Albanese’s new UN report doesn’t just document genocide, it indicts the corporate machine profiting from Palestinian blood.
  • BAR Radio Logo
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Black Agenda Radio July 11, 2025
    11 Jul 2025
    In this week’s segment, we discuss how the UK government protects Israel through terrorism statute lawfare, and media manipulation. But first, Donald Trump announced an early end to Temporary…
  • save TPS protest
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Haitian Communities Devastated by Efforts to End Temporary Protective Status
    11 Jul 2025
    The Trump administration recently announced the end of Temporary Protective Status (TPS) for 500,000 Haitians currently living in the United States. The end of TPS would end their ability to…
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us