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 social media hashtag is often where serious politics goes to die. It can be a tool of empire used to fool well-meaning but uninformed people.
The idea that white people have an inherent right to control Black people permeates to this day. Mark Fancher provides another viewpoint on the killing of Porter Burks and the legacy of white…
Detroit resident Porter Burks was killed by police while in the midst of a mental health crisis. To add insult to injury, the city of Detroit is spending millions of dollars on dubious technology…
France's colonial and neo-colonial history is now challenged in Francophone Africa by Russia's position as a world power rival to the US and other NATO nations.
Universities and museums around the world still hold human remains in their collections. Harvard University follows this discredited practice and has the skull of an enslaved Brazilian who took…
