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


  • Racial Capitalism, Black Liberation, and South Africa
    Editors, The Black Agenda Review
    Racial Capitalism, Black Liberation, and South Africa
    16 Dec 2020
    The phrase racial capitalism first emerged in the context of the anti-Apartheid and southern African liberation struggles in the 1970s.
  • When Austerity’s Chickens Came Home to Roost in the U.S., Bernie and “the Squad” were Unprepared
    Danny Haiphong, BAR Contributing Editor
    When Austerity’s Chickens Came Home to Roost in the U.S., Bernie and “the Squad” were Unprepared
    16 Dec 2020
    The theory of change that depicts the likes of Bernie Sanders and AOC as the leaders of the class struggle has failed to materialize in reality.
  • Imagine: The Town Crier’s Cabinet Selections
    Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
    Imagine: The Town Crier’s Cabinet Selections
    16 Dec 2020
    Cut plastic cuffs from imaginations— Dream larger in dire situations… IMAGINE every cook governing— every governor cooking up people puzzles—right livelihood alchemy…
  • Agenda 2021: Resist the U.S./EU/NATO Axis of Domination
    ​​​​​​​ Ajamu Baraka, BAR editor and columnist
    Agenda 2021: Resist the U.S./EU/NATO Axis of Domination
    16 Dec 2020
    It is critical that the Black left understand U.S./European imperialism as a race project, and organize accordingly. 
  • The Planet’s Problem from Hell: Samantha Power
    Ann Garrison, BAR Contributing Editor
    The Planet’s Problem from Hell: Samantha Power
    16 Dec 2020
    As head of USAID, Power will be in perfect position to wield foreign aid as a cudgel for beating foreign heads of state till they bow to US empire, writes Ann Garrison.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us