by BAR poet in residence Raymond Nat Turner
Some artists write poems and novels. Others paint and perform. Some build imaginary worlds you can immerse and lose yourself in. Some bring messages from the future, prophesying, fortelling the fates of this one. Our poet recalls one of these...
Ra Was Right
by BAR poet in residence Raymond Nat Turner
like a flaming guitar
sprinkled with lighter fluid,
four alarm fires roar
through Dark Ages on
synthesizers,
saxophones, trumpets,
pianos, drums, basses—
bari on bottom of
Interstellar swing—
Bebop blessings of
High Priests of Black Music
Time’s one dimensional
flying forward—
Fly Me To The Moon
let me loiter in the
Universe beyond
historical blips:
Above smoke stacks
spewing mushroom clouds;
Above wingtip-wearing
idiots poisoning our planet’s water;
Above primitive
Tomahawk missiles,
‘Apache’ and ‘Blackhawk’
helicopters and drones;
Above true believers
babbling ‘bout ‘our democracy;’
Above multibillionaire
media disguised as ‘mainstream;’
Above 37% ‘approval’ ratings;
Above an orange meteorite
un-humbled by the stars!
Fly Me To The Moon
with a connecting
flight to Saturn—
Recalibrating
my mind ‘round icy rings,
low-riding unknown
regions, horizons—
Finding formulations,
Equations, for overthrowing
gray-suited, star-spangled
lapel pin patriots—
True believers in
Yes, we can—
Yes, we can and
Bottle Jim Jones Juice
and deliver regime
Change you can believe in…
They said Ra was out—
way, way too far out:
Now, out is in, and
In is out—and the
cosmos is cool,
Saturn’s home—
“Space is the place!”
Raymond Nat Turner © 2017 All Rights Reserved
Raymond Nat Turner is an acclaimed poet and performance artist. Find much more of his work at http://upsurgejazz.com.
Dr. Gerald Horne is an author and historian who currently holds the John J. and Rebecca Moores Chair of History and African American Studies at the University of Houston.
Dr. Melina Abdullah is Director of Black Lives Matter Grassroots and Co-Founder of Black Lives Matter-Los Angeles. She is also a Professor of Pan-African Studies at California State University Los…
Dr. Kristen Budd is a Research Analyst with the Sentencing Project. She joins us from Washington to discuss their new report, “Increasing Public Safety by Restoring Voting Rights.” The report…
Margaret Kimberley was a guest on the Sputnik program, The Final Countdown, with hosts Ted Rall and Manila Chan. In this excerpt, she discusses the announcement of Joe Biden’s re-election campaign.
People in the U.S. venerate its violent history, support violence committed by the state, and remain very racist, yet express shock when individuals kill and maim.
