Will we walk, talk; Chew gum, text and BREATHE at the same time?

Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence

14 Aug 2024

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“Power concedes nothing without a demand.
It never did and it never will.” —Frederick Douglass

I.
Will we march and fire speak—
Bringing fiery, fresh critique?
Trashing stifling ‘black' mystique—
Not sitting silent and weak?

Will we defeat Boss Tweet
Turning up our street heat—
Fighting for the Driver’s seat—
Making slaughter obsolete?

II.
Yes, we say “No!” to hungry Budapest ‘bout to bite
Our butts. “No!” to Gremlin gangster—punctuating
Life sentences with “a little poison … ” “No!” to
Thin-skinned strongman; to never-ever wrong man.

Yes, we say “No!” to losing our heads in public places—
“No!” to embassy butchers. “No!” to facial recognition
Knowing our shadows’ whereabouts. “No!” to murderous
Monarchs. “No!” to “Heil Hitler!” “No!” to “Howdy Modi!”

Yes, we say “No!” to body-snatchers on theocratic cul-de-sacs.
“No!” to violent dress code-enforcers. “No!” to capital punishing
‘Morality’ Police. “No!” to the Texas Taliban placing hot
Orange buoys in barb-wired wombs—Making America grate again!

III.
And, yes, we promise People of The World: No mo drunken
Negroz! Bloodshot eyes rollin ‘round in their heads— Happy
Dancing thin ice! Electric Sliding slick slogans: “Yes, we can”
And bottle Jim Jones Juice; For Regime “Change you can believe in!”

Yes, we promise People of The World: No Negroz swearing
Black Magic Mumbo-Jumbo! “Wink-Wink/Nod-Nod” coded
Communication with Offal Office occupant. That all alphabet
Agency-affiliated ‘white’ folks ..uh … simply cannot decipher!
Yes, we promise People of The World: No red hot Negro tongues
Licking bloody combat boots—post-surgical strikes on
Hospitals! Post-tons of guarantees to … uh … “Hold his feet to the
Fire …”

Yes, we promise People of The World: “Never again!” No
Silence of The Lambs/spook-ism years … No Three Monkey
Drone Ranger/De-porter-In-Chief crime spree years …
No nappy-headed foolishness of—NO demands on Dems!

Yes, we promise People of The World: No unhoused Negroz—
Wandering cruel streets of capitalism— Mumbling, “Protect and
Respect” a Wall Street servant. ‘Pardoner’ of sub-prime predators—
Thieves—who wiped black wealth in homes from cooked books …

Yes, we promise People of The World: Salt of the earth Negroz
Will not “Heel!” Repudiate resistance. Abandon mass struggle.
Leave liberation on shoulders of the road—to chase optical
Delusions—Superhero—Flying stars and stripes to the rescue (????)

© 2024. Raymond Nat Turner, The Town Crier. All Rights Reserved.

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.

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