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

Fraternal fist-bump between gangstas—Fugget about it… (For Allen Ginsberg, my other favorite ‘Jersey Boy’)
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
03 Aug 2022
🖨️ Print Article
Fraternal fist-bump between gangstas—Fugget about it…

Fraternal fist-bump between gangstas—Fugget about it…
(For Allen Ginsberg, my other favorite ‘Jersey Boy’)

I.
apartheid state/south of the border/embassy butcherville—
Truth tellers residing in crosshairs everywhere! So what’s with
twitter tizzy; dither ‘bout a lil’ hand-to-hand contact between
Gangstas?
                                                                   Fugget about it…
A fraternal fist bump?
A routine morning dump?
Or a Munchkin coal lump?
A Yankee slugger’s slump?
                                                                   Fugget about it…
Brotherly bungee jump?
Ol’ Schmo playin’ the chump?
nazi party post-Trump?
Or overwork of Ben Crump?
                                                                   Fugget about it…
II.
Ol’ Schmo said he hadda go
Ol’ Schmo said he hadda go—
He said he was gonna make a Pariah of the prince
He said he was gonna make a Pariah of the prince—
But made death merchants more dollaz an’ cents!

Ol’ Schmo said he hadda go
Ol’ Schmo said he hadda go—
He said he was gonna make the prince into a Pariah
He said he was gonna make the prince into a Pariah—
But, look, whose star-spangled trousers is on fiyah?

Ol’ Schmo said, “Nothing will fundamentally change…”
Ol’ Schmo said, “Nothing will fundamentally change…”
C’mon, now’s, the fraternal fist-bump all that strange??

Ol’ Schmo said, Bloody fists don’t give Gangstas COVID-19
Ol’ Schmo said, Bloody fists don’t give Gangstas COVID-19
‘Cause he, the prince, et.al’s—cut from Capitalist Gangrene!

© 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  and PayPal .

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


More Stories


  • MANIFESTO: The 1959 Pan Africanist Manifesto
    Editors, The Black Agenda Review
    MANIFESTO: The 1959 Pan Africanist Manifesto
    26 Jan 2022
    The Pan African Congress of Azania’s 1959 Manifesto provides a radical blueprint for African self-determination.
  • Endless War is the Empire’s Last Dance
    Danny Haiphong, BAR Contributing Editor
    Endless War is the Empire’s Last Dance
    26 Jan 2022
    As the U.S. threatens endless war with Russia over Ukraine, confidence in China surges.
  • What makes you hopeful? (For Kris and KT)
    Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
    What makes you hopeful? (For Kris and KT)
    26 Jan 2022
                                                           …
  • Ethiopia, from The Development State to The Neoliberal State
    Djibo Sobukwe
    Ethiopia, from The Development State to The Neoliberal State
    26 Jan 2022
    The current conflict in Ethiopia must be examined with a deep analysis of that country's history.
  • BAR Book Forum: fahima ife’s “Maroon Choreography”
    Roberto Sirvent, BAR Book Forum Editor
    BAR Book Forum: fahima ife’s “Maroon Choreography”
    26 Jan 2022
    In this series, we ask acclaimed authors to answer five questions about their book.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us