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.
Rage is a natural human emotion that is denied to Black people. Black rage is dangerous and is washed away, laundered, as if it were an ill-gotten gain. Too Black explains in the first part of a two-…
The pursuit of justice and reparations for African people has been constant. The question of whether to pursue appeals for concessions or active struggles for power, has not been resolved.
John Parker is the Socialist Unity Party candidate for U.S. Senate in California on the Peace and Freedom Party ticket. This is Part 3 of his report on his fact-finding trip observing …
Haitians have been mobilizing against the Ariel Henry administration’s inability to combat crime, inflation and poverty. All of these ills are a direct result of Haiti's status as a puppet of the U.S…
The African conservation movement is run by European and American NGOs and wealthy individuals. Land grabs are committed in the name of biodiversity.
