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

Saturday Mornings
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
14 May 2025
🖨️ Print Article
MFDP meeting
Crowd at a Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party meeting in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, July 1964, Herbert Randall Freedom Summer Photographs, USM

“Poetry is always dissident.”
—Octavio Paz


It was muted Miles when we 
Woke Saturday mornings.
When we rose from slumber
to scents of sausage, potatoes,
bacon, eggs and coffee …

It was muted Miles when we
Woke to fragrances wafting
from Sunbeam waffle iron.

Maybe manicures and pedicures, post-
breakfast?          Maybe, on his way to
Work, the barber would pick us up for
close-cropped hair and nourishing adult 
ear worms?

Maybe I’d be pitching? Brother
Steve catching—or gobbling
up ground balls at second base?

My Mother could organize all that!
Then rip apron off, gavel meetings
to order. Pull together picket lines;
Run California assembly and senate
campaigns—Or, settle long, long-
simmering disputes. She came equipped.

No cape. No “S” on her chest. No
unusual way of getting around. She
was just          Mom …

Crazy Mom.    Invited me to attend
a meeting with her. My response:
“I don’t wanna go to your political meetings—
I just wanna play Little League Baseball!”

Her muted Miles reply…  â€śBaby,    everything’s
Political…      How do you think your park got
there?  How do you think your coach got hired?
Everything’s political,     baby.”

© 2023. Raymond Nat Turner, The Town Crier. All Rights Reserved.
 

Raymond Nat Turner is a NYC poet; BAR's Poet-in-Residence; and founder/co-leader of the jazz-poetry ensemble UpSurge!NYC. You can Vote for his work at GoFundMe and PayPal.

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


More Stories


  • Communist Party of Kenya
    Unmasking Ruto’s Betrayal and Mobilizing for Kenya’s Sovereignty and Justice
    19 Jun 2024
    Kenyan President William Ruto, despite his posturing as a strong leader for the people, has betrayed the masses time and time again. His neoliberal policies and allegiance to the imerperialist west…
  • Janvieve Williams Comrie , Mauri Balanta Jaramillo
    The Intersection of Vulnerability and Power: The Case of Francia Márquez
    19 Jun 2024
    Francia Marquez's rise to Colombia's vice presidency has put a target on her back, but she also brings with her hope for a real change in Colombian politics. As in the U.S., Black political…
  • Black Alliance for Peace Haiti/Americas Team
    Black Alliance for Peace Condemns US Black (Mis)Leaders for their Support of US Military Intervention and Occupation of Haiti
    19 Jun 2024
    The ruling elite uses black misleaders to shore up support for imperialist objectives. Currently, these misleaders are freely and happily offering their services in support of the invasion and…
  • Margaret Kimberley, BAR Executive Editor and Senior Columnist
    The Problem with Juneteenth
    19 Jun 2024
    Juneteenth was a people's holiday with deep meaning for the descendants of enslaved people. But the declaration of an official federal holiday has turned it into an opportunity for corporate…
  • Irvin Jim, NUMSA General Secretary
    NUMSA Statement on the National Elections Results and Coalitions
    19 Jun 2024
    With its recent historic loss of the Parliament majority, the African National Congress has formed a coalition with the Democratic Alliance, heir to the old apartheid regime, demonstrating its…
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us