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

Piece Process
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
23 May 2018
🖨️ Print Article
Israeli sniper prepares to implement the piece process.
Israeli sniper prepares to implement the piece process.

Breathe, Relax, Aim, Sight, Squeeze
it’s a joy-stick; a video game to him
He has orders to “light up” anything that moves;
“Mow the grass, one blade at a time…” “One shot,
one kill…”
So far, he’s bagged a man on crutches, 3 disabled, 2 children

Azriel stalks victims in the valley of death; studies
them through his scope; taking careful aim; punching
tight little holes in heads and torsos—distant targets—
They’re sudden spray, pink haze floating above spots
where they stood. No regret. No sorrow for families…

A plume of black smoke from flaming tires curls
into his crosshairs, his snake eyes nesting in sand—
a nano second too late—
Another child’s head ‘clashes’
with a butterfly bullet from a
football field away—
Crimson skull fragments
explode from the grapefruit-sized exit wound;
Spent cartridges, his ‘kill brass,’ pile up in the
sand…
Ah, the rules of engagement
What’s bone, arteries—another amputated leg—
got to do with it/the piece process: shoot one man,
Terrify a thousand? Don’t ‘our’ finest train there?

poerty

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


Related Stories

Ready for the Roaring ‘20s?
BAR Poet-in-Residence Raymond Nat Turner
Ready for the Roaring ‘20s?
08 January 2020
This Orange Age outrage— Reich of the child’s cage Cancer at fourth stage— Rogue state’s rampage…

More Stories


  • U.S. Effort to Hurt Russia Undermines Itself and the World
    Margaret Kimberley, BAR Executive Editor and Senior Columnist
    U.S. Effort to Hurt Russia Undermines Itself and the World
    08 Jun 2022
    The U.S. drive to dominate creates self-inflicted wounds and self-imposed crises. It also creates suffering around the world with only the most servile vassal states willing to do what…
  • For the Peoples of our Region, the Failure of Biden’s Summit of the Americas Would be a Welcome Event
    ​​​​​​​ Ajamu Baraka, BAR editor and columnist
    For the Peoples of our Region, the Failure of Biden’s Summit of the Americas Would be a Welcome Event
    08 Jun 2022
    The Summit of the Americas is not the property of the host nation. The U.S. has no right to exclude, Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela, but has done so in disregard of their sovereignty. The U.S. is not…
  • DOCUMENT: The Decline of the United States Empire, James Boggs, 1963
    Editors, The Black Agenda Review
    DOCUMENT: The Decline of the United States Empire, James Boggs, 1963
    08 Jun 2022
    James Boggs was a Detroit auto worker, activist, and author. Nearly 60 years ago he analyzed revolutionary movements in the Americas and described their role in hastening the U.S. empire's…
  • Why the Belt and Road Initiative Won’t be Derailed by the Ukraine Crisis
    Danny Haiphong, BAR Contributing Editor
    Why the Belt and Road Initiative Won’t be Derailed by the Ukraine Crisis
    08 Jun 2022
    Ukraine has been at the center of a massive geopolitical and economic whirlwind. But the turmoil caused by the U.S.-instigated conflict shouldn't cause problems for the Belt and Road Initiative.
  • BAR Book Forum: Interview with Akinyele Umoja
    Roberto Sirvent, BAR Book Forum Editor
    BAR Book Forum: Interview with Akinyele Umoja
    08 Jun 2022
    This week’s featured scholar is Akinyele Umoja. Umoja is Professor of Africana Studies at Georgia State University. His article is “Maroon: Kuwasi Balagoon and the Evolution of Revolutionary New…
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us