by BAR poet in residence Raymond Nat Turner
in which our poet compares the connection between needed undertakings on the part of each according to her ability unto each according to her need to some other undertakings bearing the same name....
“Operation”
by BAR poet in residence Raymond Nat Turner
I hear the Dr.—
the healer—speaking
fractured eye sockets,
shattered skulls,
ruptured bladders—
tubes in throats
singing silently
of blunt force
My snare tightens—
beating about blessings the
children and I were granted
I hear the Dr.—
the healer—speaking of
Bronx boulders, deadly detours,
tragic odysseys, then seven years
good luck, studying in Cuba!
For the umpteenth time I wonder
what life would’ve looked like had
the boulders not blocked my
Brother’s path to pinstripes?
She speaks passionately
about bedside manner, care,
Healing—thankfully—not a
whisper of ‘insurance’ or
‘coverage…’
Her passion echoes my Mom’s—
wearing out phones;
Marching shoe heels off,
Fighting for—founding her
Community’s hospital and
Medical School—
room temperature tears
crescendo down my cheeks,
flooding Memory Lane…
I’m imagining magic of Mom’s hand:
peppery greens, golden cornbread,
turnips, beets, pinto beans,
crispy fried chicken, or meatloaf,
peach cobbler, or sweet potato pie—
seven courses for every year the
Dr. studied medicine in Spanish;
I’m watching them clear the table—
Launching into ‘hows,’ for
Serving
The People—even better!
Seconds later—another program
Is on—and I
hear its Dr.—
of night vision goggles, air support,
blast radius, speak ‘theaters,’ for
an
‘Operation’
To ‘retake’ Mosul…
Raymond Nat Turner is an acclaimed poet and performance artist, and our poet in residence at Black Agenda Report. Find more of his work at http://www.upsurgejazz.com.
The immigrants who revolted inside the Delaney Hall immigration jail are not criminals but prisoners of war, and their actions are those of resistance against a fascist detention system.
Since early May, the World Health Organization and the African Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have been working to contain the spread of a rare and virulent strain of Ebola virus disease.
A critical analysis of the U.S. backed social media "influencer" war propaganda campaign against Cuba as it struggles against a criminal siege.
Colombia's presidential election will be held on June 21st as Historic Pact candidate Ivan Cepeda runs against the Trump endorsed right wing candidate Abelardo de la Espriella. This analysis written…
From Gaza to Tehran, from the politics of resistance to the limits of regional diplomacy, a pressing question has resurfaced amid the 2026 war: why was Palestine not explicitly placed at the center…
