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

Salute To Shift Holders! (Down With Boss Tweet!)
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
25 Jan 2018
🖨️ Print Article
Salute To Shift Holders!  (Down With Boss Tweet!)

He’s, obviously, not a New Yorker,
riding trains 4 and 5 in the morning.
Trains packed with hoodie-crowned;
shuttered chocolate, mocha, peanut
butter, caramel, coffee-colored faces—
Lunch bucket UN—palpable power,
Grabbing their last Zs, before Shifts
Holding levers, running the city.

He, obviously, gets no coffee,
street snacks, scarves, gloves,
posters, CDs, DVDs, caps, T-shirts
from carts and stands tourists treasure;
Carts and stands powered by African, Asian,
Latin American, Caribbean, Middle Eastern labor…

Lord knows he’s never been
to bodegas named Ameer's,
or Branson’s juice bar,
or the Texas Star,
Tarboosh, Nanoosh,
Cafe One, Clove, Dig Inn,
or Peace Food—where
Workers from plundered countries
Toil—countries Boss Tweet dissed!
Eateries where workers break bread,
rub shoulders, swap stories: U.S. bases,
Blood-soaked “boots on the ground,” Coups,
Death squads, decomposing bodies, bullets,
Bombs, missiles chasing families from
smoldering homelands…“in harm’s way”

Tweet’s just a paper towel-tossing,
beetle-brained, feces-faced
Clown, giving cover to 1%
Pickpockets working the crowd—
Look for him in the sewer…
Days when all trains empty at
City Hall and Wall Street…

Raymond Nat Turner © 2018 All Rights Reserved

Our poet in residence, Raymond Nat Turner is an acclaimed poet and performing artist. You can find much more of his work at http://upsurgejazz.com.

Do you need and appreciate Black Agenda Report articles? Please click on the DONATE icon, and help us out, if you can.


More Stories


  • Abayomi Azikiwe
    Palestinian Casualties in Gaza Mount
    01 May 2024
    The United States Congress and administration agree to allocate over $95 billion for wars around the world.
  • Report on New York Times memo on the Gaza war
    Ramzy Baroud
    Cruelty of Language: Leaked NY Times Memo Reveals Moral Depravity of US Media
    01 May 2024
    The recent leak of a New York Times memo reveals its unethical journalistic practices and the organization's commitment to upholding the state line on support for Zionism.
  • President Joe Biden and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky
    Tyler Durden
    Biden Looks To Prevent Future President From Ending Ukraine War With 10-Year Agreement
    01 May 2024
    The agreement Presidents Biden and Zelensky are attempting to put in place is another means by which this administration plans to circumvent the democratic process and continue to propagate war.
  • Zoe Alexandra
    Leaders Affirm, ALBA-TCP is the Alliance of Solidarity, Unity, and Development for the People
    01 May 2024
    2024 marks 20 years since the regional integration platform was founded by Commanders Hugo Chávez and Fidel Castro.
  • BAR Radio Logo
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Black Agenda Radio April 26, 2024
    26 Apr 2024
    This week, we discuss the New York Governor’s refusal to include a housing voucher program in the latest budget and how the U.S. has been permitted to assist Israel in its war crimes. First, we…
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us