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

Ready for the Roaring ‘20s?
BAR Poet-in-Residence Raymond Nat Turner
08 Jan 2020
🖨️ Print Article
Ready for the Roaring ‘20s?
Ready for the Roaring ‘20s?

This Orange Age outrage—
Reich of the child’s cage
Cancer at fourth stage—
Rogue state’s rampage…
is a tiny blip on capitalism’s 
Continuum…
Its hypnotic ebb and flow,
distilled decades of woe—
decades of darkness,
Slowly bend in scalding
magma, bubbling up from below…
Sorry for the inconvenience—
the beginning is near…
Sweeping in the Roaring ‘20s…

Was it a Night in Tunisia? 
Ferguson? Occupy? Palestine? 
Baltimore? Madison?
A single spark in the dark
setting off prairie fire?
Was it Standing Rock, ‘Red’
State teachers’ strikes? Was it
the tick of Time’s Up-Me Too? The
Howl of climate chaos—Extinction 
Rebellion—Or harmony 
of… “All the above…”
Sweeping in the Roaring ‘20s?

Tsunamis of struggle sweep
World streets into 99% gyms—
Core/cardio spaces building big hearts;
Strength training, flexing, stretching—
muscling up militant mass movements
Against corporate olympics: Race to the 
bottom!
Strength training, squeezing concessions
from barbarians in Brooks Brothers suits
and other capitalist costumes—
Sweeping in the Roaring ‘20s!

No Charleston, flappers, speakeasies.
No bootleg liquor. Fewer pain dulling
shots. Less low sodium tears in beer…
Militant mass action’s tonic and gin—
Magic potion; prayer; voodoo—and a 
Vote for the lesser of evils…
“Happy Hour’s” the 99% cheering
favorite forms of 
Resistance on bars’ big screens—
Sweeping in the Roaring ‘20s
Sweeping in the Roaring ‘20s…

© 2020. Raymond Nat Turner, The Town Crier. All Rights Reserved.

BAR’s poet in residence Raymond Nat Turner is an accomplished performing artist. You can find much more of his work at http://upsurgejazz.com .

COMMENTS?

Please join the conversation on Black Agenda Report's Facebook page at http://facebook.com/blackagendareport

Or, you can comment by emailing us at comments@blackagendareport.com

poerty

Do you need and appreciate Black Agenda Report articles? Please click on the DONATE icon, and help us out, if you can.


Related Stories

Israeli sniper prepares to implement the piece process.
Raymond Nat Turner , BAR poet-in-residence
Piece Process
23 May 2018
Breathe, Relax, Aim, Sight, Squeeze it’s a joy-stick; a video game to him He has orders to “light up” anything that moves;

More Stories


  • The Palestinian Resistance Movement Hamas issued a 16-page document on Sunday, entitled ‘Our Narrative … Operation Al-Aqsa Flood’
    Palestine Chronicle Staff
    Hamas Document Reveals: Why We Carried Out Al-Aqsa Flood Operation
    24 Jan 2024
    The Palestinian Resistance Movement Hamas issued a 16-page document on Sunday, entitled ‘Our Narrative … Operation Al-Aqsa Flood’. The document addresses many critical questions about the context,…
  • Yeminis protesting the US bombing of their country
    Abayomi Azikiwe
    Washington and London Make Mockery of International Law
    24 Jan 2024
    As the White House and 10 Downing Street deny genocide in Gaza, both imperialist states bomb Yemen, the most impoverished country in the West Asia region.
  • Protest against Israeli genocide on Palestine
    Black Alliance For Peace
    International Coalition Applauds South Africa; Denounces Countries Supporting Israel’s Crimes
    24 Jan 2024
    The International Coalition to Stop Genocide in Palestine renews its call for support of South Africa's charge of genocide against Israel in the International Court of Justice. 
  • Vladimir Lenin
    Abiodun Olamosu
    Learning from Lenin Today
    24 Jan 2024
    One hundred years since Lenin’s death, Nigerian socialist Abiodun Olamosu describes the revolutionary's influence on his own political development. 
  • Great March of Return
    Brett Wilkins
    US Supreme Court Rejects Bid to Silence Palestinian Rights Advocacy
    24 Jan 2024
    For the third time a federal court has dismissed a case targeting the U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights' support for the 2018-19 Great March of Return protests in Gaza.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us