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


  • Patrice Lumumba
    Editors, The Black Agenda Review
    SPEECH: The Truth about a Monstrous Crime of the Colonialists, Patrice Lumumba, 30 June 1960
    15 Nov 2023
    We remember Patrice Lumumba. We will not forget the Congo.
  • International Delegation in Solidarity with Gaza in Cairo, Egypt
    Margaret Kimberley, BAR Executive Editor and Senior Columnist
    Black Agenda Report Joins in Gaza Relief Effort
    15 Nov 2023
    Corporate media excel at misdirection and telling outright lies. Independent media must have a seat at the table when opportunities arise to cover events such as relief efforts for the people of Gaza.
  • Palestinian flag in the shape of the African continent
    Djibo Sobukwe
    Why Africans / Black Folks Should Oppose Zionism: Some Aspects of a Racist Imperialist Ideology in Africa and the Americas
    15 Nov 2023
    Colonized people must be in solidarity with the oppressed and by definition, that means being anti-zionist.
  • NED Event
    Travis Ross
    Why is the NED Trying to Hide its Money Trail in Haiti?
    08 Nov 2023
    The grandiose name, National Endowment for Democracy, is a subterfuge meant to hide the fact that NED is the public relations arm of the CIA.
  • Airmen from US Air Force Special Operations Command brief Christopher Maier, assistant secretary of defense for special operations and low-intensity conflict.
    Abayomi Azikiwe
    White House and Pentagon Directing IDF Genocidal War in Gaza
    08 Nov 2023
    There would be no war crimes committed in Gaza absent the direct involvement of the U.S.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us