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


  • Hip Hop: A Global Lingua Franca for the Dispossessed
    Jon Jeter
    Hip Hop: A Global Lingua Franca for the Dispossessed
    06 Sep 2023
    Any celebration of the 50th anniversary of hip hop must reference its worldwide political appeal.
  • Georgia Attorney General Brings RICO Indictments Against 61 Activists
    Atlanta Community Press Collective
    Georgia Attorney General Brings RICO Indictments Against 61 Activists
    06 Sep 2023
    The state of Georgia is using the RICO organized crime statute to crush Stop Cop City protests.
  • Dilemmas of Humanity Conference in the US Outlines Principle Task: Organize a Working Class Movement to Defeat the Empire
    Natalia Marques
    Dilemmas of Humanity Conference in the US Outlines Principle Task: Organize a Working Class Movement to Defeat the Empire
    06 Sep 2023
    Socialists, organizers, and working class leaders in the United States describe the challenges the movement faces, and what is to be done to overcome them.
  • 11th Circuit Court Issues Stay in Favor of Atlanta in "Cop City" Referendum Case
    Dyana Bagby
    11th Circuit Court Issues Stay in Favor of Atlanta in "Cop City" Referendum Case
    06 Sep 2023
    The petition process to put Cop City on the ballot in Atlanta continues, despite Atlanta public officials' insistence on building a so-called public safety training center that their constituents don…
  • Black Agenda Radio September 1, 2023
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Black Agenda Radio September 1, 2023
    01 Sep 2023
    Fani Willis' prosecution of Black teachers, gun violence and racism, and the challenge of securing exoneration in New York.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us