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


  • SPEECH: “The architects of this murder are many:” Kwame Nkrumah on the killing of Patrice Lumumba, 1961
    Editors, The Black Agenda Review
    SPEECH: “The architects of this murder are many:” Kwame Nkrumah on the killing of Patrice Lumumba, 1961
    27 Apr 2022
    Kwame Nkrumah’s 1961 speech on the assassination of Patrice Lumumba exposes the the international white supremacist cabal responsible for his death, and for the crisis of the Congo.
  • Race and The Great American Death Divide
    Danny Haiphong, BAR Contributing Editor
    Race and The Great American Death Divide
    27 Apr 2022
    It is not surprising that a settler colonial state would practice racism for centuries or that race would be the major factor determining who lives and who dies.
  • A lil’ homegoing homage to Brother Donald…
    Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
    A lil’ homegoing homage to Brother Donald…
    27 Apr 2022
    Donald Smith always performed at Black Agenda Report events in New York City. He was a great musician and friend to the Black Agenda Report team. He will be missed.
  • Notes from Wartorn Ethiopia, Part III: Crimes of the Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front
    Ann Garrison, BAR Contributing Editor
    Notes from Wartorn Ethiopia, Part III: Crimes of the Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front
    27 Apr 2022
    BAR contributor Ann Garrison reports on conditions in Ethiopia.
  • BAR Book Forum: Mercy Romero’s “Toward Camden”
    Roberto Sirvent, BAR Book Forum Editor
    BAR Book Forum: Mercy Romero’s “Toward Camden”
    27 Apr 2022
    In this series, we ask acclaimed authors to answer five questions about their book. This week’s featured author is Mercy Romero. Romero is Associate Professor of American Literature and American…
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us