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


  • What Does the Esau Revolution Despise?
    Don Fitz
    What Does the Esau Revolution Despise?
    10 Dec 2020
    The Democrats’ relentless suppression of the Green Party affected the mind-set of more voters than all the right-wing howls put together.
  • Letters from Our Readers
    BAR Comments Editor Jahan Choudhry
    Letters from Our Readers
    10 Dec 2020
    This week the role of US elites in controlling resistance by Ugandans and Black Americans were on your minds.
  • BAR Book Forum: Shiloh Krupar’s “Hot Spotter’s Report”
    Roberto Sirvent, BAR Book Forum Editor
    BAR Book Forum: Shiloh Krupar’s “Hot Spotter’s Report”
    10 Dec 2020
    The U.S. military claims it is “green,” but what the Pentagon is really trying to prove is the planetary sustainability of war.
  • BAR Book Forum: B. Brian Foster’s “I Don’t Like the Blues”
    Roberto Sirvent, BAR Book Forum Editor
    BAR Book Forum: B. Brian Foster’s “I Don’t Like the Blues”
    10 Dec 2020
    What happens if we really pay attention to what black folks in the rural South are saying and doing in their everyday lives?
  • Lynchings By Law
    Aaron Greene
    Lynchings By Law
    10 Dec 2020
    The Trump administration plans to execute five people before there is a change of power. “The death penalty is the ultimate human rights violation.”
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us