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

Piece Process
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
23 May 2018
🖨️ Print Article
Israeli sniper prepares to implement the piece process.
Israeli sniper prepares to implement the piece process.

Breathe, Relax, Aim, Sight, Squeeze
it’s a joy-stick; a video game to him
He has orders to “light up” anything that moves;
“Mow the grass, one blade at a time…” “One shot,
one kill…”
So far, he’s bagged a man on crutches, 3 disabled, 2 children

Azriel stalks victims in the valley of death; studies
them through his scope; taking careful aim; punching
tight little holes in heads and torsos—distant targets—
They’re sudden spray, pink haze floating above spots
where they stood. No regret. No sorrow for families…

A plume of black smoke from flaming tires curls
into his crosshairs, his snake eyes nesting in sand—
a nano second too late—
Another child’s head ‘clashes’
with a butterfly bullet from a
football field away—
Crimson skull fragments
explode from the grapefruit-sized exit wound;
Spent cartridges, his ‘kill brass,’ pile up in the
sand…
Ah, the rules of engagement
What’s bone, arteries—another amputated leg—
got to do with it/the piece process: shoot one man,
Terrify a thousand? Don’t ‘our’ finest train there?

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

Ready for the Roaring ‘20s?
BAR Poet-in-Residence Raymond Nat Turner
Ready for the Roaring ‘20s?
08 January 2020
This Orange Age outrage— Reich of the child’s cage Cancer at fourth stage— Rogue state’s rampage…

More Stories


  • Erica Caines
    All Black Feminisms Ain’t Created Equal
    27 Sep 2023
    Black feminism should be focused on the struggle against colonial structures and not solely on issues of personal empowerment. 
  • Prensa Latina
    Cuban President Praises Malcolm X’s Legacy in New York
    27 Sep 2023
    Cuban president Miguel Diaz-Canel paid tribute to Malcolm X on the anniversary of his historic meeting with Fidel Castro.
  • Larmbert Ebitu
    Pan-African Masquerade: William Ruto with the Mask Off
    27 Sep 2023
    Kenya's president William Ruto talks a good game about Pan-Africanism but in his short time in office he has become the reliable cover for U.S. imperialism.
  • Abayomi Azikiwe
    G77+China Holds Summit in Cuba Calling for a Different World Order
    27 Sep 2023
    Cuba hosted the recent G77+China Summit in Havana, where calls to change the existing world order were made by Global South nations.
  • Tanupriya Singh
    Haiti and Kenya Establish Diplomatic Ties as UNSC Mulls Deployment of Controversial “Security Support Mission”
    27 Sep 2023
    Kenya has stated it will lead a potential intervention in Haiti backed by the US and the UN. The move is yet another attack on the sovereignty of Haiti in service of imperialist interests and…
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us