What makes you hopeful?
(For Kris and KT)
”…I hope someday you’ll join us.
And the world will live as one.”
—John Lennon
There are times she asks me, “What gives you hope?”
I say, “Ain’t The Audacity of Dope—“
Ol’ Schmo, Slick Willy or The Drone Ranger
It’s random acts of kindness from a stranger
It’s Farmers Markets, Co-Ops and mutual aid
It’s those first crayon drawings my children made!
It’s couples taking care of each other
It’s a professor teaching his grandmother
It’s the bad saxophonist who can sing—
It’s the hot Jazz group that can playground swing
It’s a young drummer who’s living his dream…
It’s John Coltrane blowing A Love Supreme!
It’s the cozy, sable, zippered sweater
It’s brilliant teachers making me better
It’s red flags flying from a church steeple—
It’s gangstas woke—now serving the people!
It’s school children walking out in protest
It’s freedom fighters who risk arrest…
It’s an addict living clean and sober
It’s Ferguson’s thru-line to Strike-tober
It’s speeches of Malcolm and Dr. King
It’s George Floyd Summer thawing Arab Spring…
It’s my ‘rabbi’ dying—then coming back
It’s waking up this morning—proud and Black
It’s fifteen minutes of flame once a week—
It’s Tryin’/Tranein’ for my Wikileak!
© 2022. Raymond Nat Turner, The Town Crier. All Rights Reserved.
Former forklift driver/warehouse worker/janitor, Raymond Nat Turner is a NYC poet; BAR's Poet-in-Residence; and founder/co-leader of the jazz-poetry ensemble UpSurge!NYC. You can Vote for his work at:
GoFundMe: https://www.gofundme.com/f/the-town-criers-big-tooth-fund
PayPal: paypal.me/towncrierRNT
Lance Hawkins joins us from New York City to discuss the recent election of Zohran Mamdani, who will take office as the mayor of New York City on January 1. Lance Hawkins is a community, labor, and…
David Hundeyin is a Nigerian investigative journalist, bestselling author, and founder of West Africa Weekly, an independent Pan-African digital news publication focusing on West Africa and the Sahel…
New Yorkers experienced some democracy with Zohran Mamdani's victory in the mayor's race and are inspiring voters across the country to believe that change is possible. But the outcome is a challenge…
“Black Brazilians have been suffering … since the establishment of slavery more than 400 years ago.”
The conflict in Sudan is a neo-colonial takeover, with United States ally the UAE using a proxy force to exploit that nation for its resources and strategic position.
