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


  • Margaret Kimberley, BAR Executive Editor and Senior Columnist
    Zohran Mamdani and a Small Victory for the People
    05 Nov 2025
    New Yorkers experienced some democracy with Zohran Mamdani's victory in the mayor's race and are inspiring voters across the country to believe that change is possible. But the outcome is a challenge…
  • Editors, The Black Agenda Review
    INTERVIEW: Blacks in Brazil: An Interview with Lélia Gonzalez, 1980
    05 Nov 2025
    “Black Brazilians have been suffering … since the establishment of slavery more than 400 years ago.”
  • Mosaab Baba
    Sudan: Africa's Regional Neo-Colonial War
    05 Nov 2025
    The conflict in Sudan is a neo-colonial takeover, with United States ally the UAE using a proxy force to exploit that nation for its resources and strategic position.
  • Ann Garrison, BAR Contributing Editor
    Use and Abuse of the Genocide Convention
    05 Nov 2025
    Genocide crime, as defined by the UN Convention on Genocide, is sadly common. When does the world decide to respond? 
  • Tunde Osazua
    Nigeria in the Crosshairs: Separating Fact from Fiction in the Looming Crisis
    05 Nov 2025
    The threat of U.S. military action in Nigeria has little to do with protecting Christians and everything to do with domestic U.S. politics and international political games. The "genocide" claim…
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us