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

Bad Hombres
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
25 Jul 2018
🖨️ Print Article
Bad Hombres
Central American has the highest murder rate on the planet, thanks to 2 centuries of US intervention.

Miguel was a precocious
six-year-old. And Maria,
his mother, swore the
Sun’s shine started in
his green eyes. ‘Ojos Verde,’
she lovingly called him.

Blessed with perfect pitch,
Miguel’s music aptitude
was off the charts! He could pick
Melodies out on the tiny, beat up
guitar, his Grandpa rescued from
Rich folks’ trash and put in Miguel’s
small hands the moment he walked.
And the sky was the limit—before
Bad Hombres with
Badges kidnapped him…

Floods of florescent light, 24/7
and arbitrary darkness behind
blacked out windows…remind
Miguel that his world is flipped
Upside down like a car skidding out of
Control somewhere in Oregon or New York.
He misses his Mommy; He rocks and chants
staccato licks, “Ma-ma, ma-ma, ma-ma…”

The sharp needle pierces his tender
Brown flesh. He screams, “Ma-ma, Ma-ma!”
Sunshine drains from emerald eyes into slo-
mo replays like red flags thrown through the
Rest of his life…

After 54 days Miguel’s reunited with his Mommy.
She searches scabies and lice for emerald sunshine,
Finding busted windows where a tortured soul and
Nightmares reside profitably: Childcare provided by
Bad Hombres—
drug dealers
and rapists…

© 2018. Raymond Nat Turner, The Town Crier. All Rights Reserved.

Raymond Nat Turner is an acclaimed poet and performing artist. Find much more of his work at http://upsurgejazz.com.

Central America

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


Related Stories

John Perry
UN “Experts” Fueling Washington’s Attacks on Nicaragua
01 April 2026
The UN panel’s reports on Nicaragua recycle claims from U.S.-backed opposition groups, serving as a propaganda arm for Washington’s regime chan
Gerald A. Perreira
Turning Its Back on Cuba: Government of Guyana Sells Its Soul
25 February 2026
Cuba has provided Guyana with doctors, scholarships, and healthcare for nearly five decades.

More Stories


  • Baltimore’s Black Alliance for Peace Demands End to Policing Surge
    BAP-Baltimore
    Baltimore’s Black Alliance for Peace Demands End to Policing Surge
    15 Jan 2020
    Baltimore is among the seven cities targeted by the Trump administration for a high-tech “surge” in police penetration of Black communities.
  • Letters from Our Readers 
    Jahan Chowdhry, BAR Comments Editor
    Letters from Our Readers 
    15 Jan 2020
    Since our last column readers have been writing to us about the assassination of Gen Soleimani and the coup in Bolivia.  We share your letters for “
  • BAR Book Forum: Annette Joseph-Gabriel’s “Reimagining Liberation”
    Roberto Sirvent, BAR Book Forum Editor
    BAR Book Forum: Annette Joseph-Gabriel’s “Reimagining Liberation”
    15 Jan 2020
    When fascism was on the march Black women intellectuals and activists imagined, and struggled for, a new world.
  • BAR Book Forum: Courtney Pace’s “Freedom Faith”
    Roberto Sirvent, BAR Book Forum Editor
    BAR Book Forum: Courtney Pace’s “Freedom Faith”
    15 Jan 2020
    “Freedom Faith” is the belief that God wants all people to be free, and that God equips and empowers those who work for freedom.
  • Ahmed Sékou Touré’s Unique and Dynamic Contribution to the Philosophy of Class Struggle
    Djibo Sobukwe
    Ahmed Sékou Touré’s Unique and Dynamic Contribution to the Philosophy of Class Struggle
    15 Jan 2020
    The ideology of Touréism combines aspects of Marxist – Leninist methodology with traditional African values.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us