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


  • Cedric Robinson and the Origins of Race
    Minkah Makalani
    Cedric Robinson and the Origins of Race
    10 Feb 2021
    An examination Robinson’s body of work can enrich our understanding of racial capitalism and offer additional tools for overcoming our political impasse.
  • The Vaccine Distribution Crisis: Capitalism in its Death Agony
    Mya Shone
    The Vaccine Distribution Crisis: Capitalism in its Death Agony
    10 Feb 2021
    The hoarding of existing supply and the refusal to create a vast public infrastructure capable of producing and distributing COVID-19 vaccines are inherent consequences of capitalism.
  • Electoral Politics Use The Same Containment Strategies As Alzheimer’s Facilities
    Caitlin Johnstone
    Electoral Politics Use The Same Containment Strategies As Alzheimer’s Facilities
    10 Feb 2021
    The US electoral system is like a dementia facility run by Democratic Party staff members pretending to want the same thing we want. “It’s a locked facility.”
  • Popular Resistance: The Anti-War Movement Must Not Go Back to Sleep Under Biden
    Margaret Flowers
    Popular Resistance: The Anti-War Movement Must Not Go Back to Sleep Under Biden
    10 Feb 2021
    Biden has chosen the most diverse group of war mongers and torture supporters the nation has ever had.
  •  Black Agenda Radio for Week of February 8, 2021
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley and Glen Ford
    Black Agenda Radio for Week of February 8, 2021
    08 Feb 2021
    Activists Seed Public Schools With Black Liberation Curriculum
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us