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

A known known…
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
08 Jul 2021
🖨️ Print Article
A known known…
A known known…

“…there are known knowns. There are things
we know that we know. There are known
unknowns—things we do not know we know…” -- 
an infamous War Criminal

We know “extraordinary rendition” wasn’t 
Gladys and Marvin dropping smash hit
versions of “Grapevine” the same year…
We know “enhanced interrogation” wasn’t 
probing philosophical conversations regarding 
Grand mysteries of life…

In a dark, damp, dank, demonic den of depleted
uranium shrouded in white phosphorus clouds 
belching fracking fluid; A devilish war criminal
WMD dances around gaslighting Dr. Goebbels and
Empire’s death rattle. The stench of sulfur swirls 
up into his flared nostrils. Alas, he’s home!

Bloodthirsty thug in Brooks Brothers suit; Architect 
of Terror on War; Walking war crime; he arrives on a 
Hellfire Missile—Fallujah, Bagram, Abu Ghraib tags
on his baggage. Unapologetic for The Hague leg of his
journey, he’s the latest ghost detainee housed in the
Hitler-Hoover wing for the worst of the worst.

War criminal crème de la crimson, his place is cemented
in the pantheon of war criminals. For continuity he leaves
behind warlocks like Ol’ Schmo, Raytheon’s Craven Raven,
The Drone Ranger and Warlike Rice Women, Ladee Blu, et. al.
Now he can devote himself full-time
to stress positions, 20-hour interrogations, weaponizing phobias

After the war criminal’s laid to rest—and off the news cycle;  
after boots are gone from the ground, Ol’ Schmo will keep on
sending and sending and sending shareholders drones “over
the rainbow” to Afghanistan/Pakistan. And Congressmembers
sporting red, white and blue Wehrmacht jackets will keep
Huffing and puffing hot air…floating war profiteer balloons…

And now…A Moment of Silence—wet, cold, Wikileak, foghorn loud—
for Persian Gulf, Afghanistan, Pakistan millions slaughtered on the 
watch of a cunning sadist-torturer-mass murderer; devil of death…

© 2021. Raymond Nat Turner, The Town Crier. All Rights Reserved.

Raymond Nat Turner is an accomplished poet and performing artist, and an official of the National Writers Union. Find 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

poetry

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


Related Stories

Editors, The Black Agenda Review
POEM: Poem for Walter Rodney, Edward Kamau Brathwaite, 1981  
11 June 2025
“any where or world where there is love there is the sky and its blue free
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
A few lines for the Poet Ojenke...
21 May 2025
RIP: Rise In Poetics to Ra
Editors, The Black Agenda Review
POEM: Reflections after the June 12th March of Disarmament, Sonia Sanchez, 1982
18 December 2024
“I have come to you tonite not just for the stoppage
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
Love My Black Job
11 September 2024
Love my Black Job— Black Student Union Job! Hired at L.A. City College As “The Peoples Poet!”
Editors, The Black Agenda Review
POEM: Enemy of the Sun, Samih al-Qasim, 1970
29 May 2024
Read against the terrible incineration of Rafah today, this poem of resistance and refusal, by Pa
Image of Refaat Alareer sitting in a crowd of graduates
Editors, The Black Agenda Review
POEM: If I Must Die, Refaat Alareer, 2023
13 December 2023
Palestinian poet Refaat Alareer, a martyr of zionist state genocidal violence, has left us with a tale of resistance and hope.
Protest for Palestine at the White House
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
Trigger Warning
22 November 2023
Trigger Warning Palestine’s the Answer— What was the Question?
Another June 1
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
Another June 1
07 June 2023
                                       
BAR Book Forum: Jon Jon Moore’s “The Calling: Poems”
Roberto Sirvent, BAR Book Forum Editor
BAR Book Forum: Jon Jon Moore’s “The Calling: Poems”
16 February 2022
In this series, we ask acclaimed authors to answer five questions about their book.
Our ‘democracy’
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
Our ‘democracy’
23 July 2021
Shangri-La—untaxed, socially-distanced champagne- caviar, Cayman Island, yacht crowds who

More Stories


  • Abuses in the Child Protection System
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Abuses in the Child Protection System
    29 Jul 2022
    Across the country entities that are known as child welfare agencies regularly break up black families by claiming to care for the needs of children. Amanda Wallace is the founder of Operation Stop…
  • Save the University City Town Homes
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Save the University City Town Homes
    29 Jul 2022
    Rasheda Alexander is a tenant organizer at the University City Town Homes in Philadelphia. She joins us to discuss their struggle to stop a mass eviction amidst the proposed sale of their affordable…
  • Glen Ford's Irreplaceable Journalism
    Margaret Kimberley, BAR Executive Editor and Senior Columnist
    Glen Ford's Irreplaceable Journalism
    27 Jul 2022
    I was very proud to write the preface to Glen Ford's book, The Black Agenda, which was published posthumously by OR Books. As we approach the first anniversary of Glen's passing, I endeavored to…
  • Glen Ford's Ukrainian Crystal Ball
    Glen Ford , BAR executive editor
    Glen Ford's Ukrainian Crystal Ball
    27 Jul 2022
    Glen Ford was among the speakers at a May 16, 2014 teach-in on Ukraine sponsored by the International Action Center. The event was held at The Riverside Church in New York City in the wake of the…
  • The Lies of Empire: Don’t Believe a Word They Say
    Glen Ford , BAR executive editor
    The Lies of Empire: Don’t Believe a Word They Say
    27 Jul 2022
    The U.S. reprises Iraq, inventing a WMD threat from Syria. The FBI concocts home-grown terror through stings, while the NSA claims it has secretly saved many lives. “Why this steady stream of…
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us