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


  • Why the Russian Federation Recognized the Independence Movements in the Donbas
    ​​​​​​​ Ajamu Baraka, BAR editor and columnist
    Why the Russian Federation Recognized the Independence Movements in the Donbas
    22 Feb 2023
    Ajamu Baraka argued that the Ukrainian crisis was a “manufactured crisis” primarily created by the miscalculations of policy-makers in the U.S. and Western Europe who were blinded by the prospect of…
  • From Crisis to Catastrophe? What is To Be Done in Eastern Europe
    Dr. Gerald Horne
    From Crisis to Catastrophe? What is To Be Done in Eastern Europe
    22 Feb 2023
    According to Dr. Gerald Horne, greed and shortsightedness convinced the U.S. that it could achieve the strategic objectives of undermining German economic power by controlling the European market,…
  • The Truth About Abraham Lincoln: In His Own Words
    Richard S. Dunn
    The Truth About Abraham Lincoln: In His Own Words
    22 Feb 2023
    February is the designated month to honor presidents, but Black people should know better than to believe what they are told about any benevolence on the part of George Washington, Abraham…
  • Interview with Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki – Part I
    Ministry of Information Eritrea
    Interview with Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki – Part I
    22 Feb 2023
    The president of Eritrea gives a wide ranging interview on the U.S. regime change effort against neighboring nation Ethiopia using the TPLF, and long-standing U.S. hostility towards his country.
  • African American Resistance in the Rural South from the Great Depression to World War II
    Abayomi Azikiwe
    African American Resistance in the Rural South from the Great Depression to World War II
    22 Feb 2023
    Southern farm workers joined in solidarity during the great depression.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us