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

…solidarity sounds like…
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
10 Apr 2019
🖨️ Print Article
movement
this is what solidarity looks like...

I’m a Seoul Man, da-da-da—dat-da-da-da
I’m a Seoul Man, da-da-da—dat-da-da-da
I’m also a Pyongyang, Managua, Manilla,
Teheran Man, too—As opposed to despot
As I am to coup!
When they go high—
Pole dancing palace and peacock throne—
I go low— on my own: grassroots, salt of the earth…
Lookin’ here and there, searchin’ everywhere
for bleach, Windex, Pine Sol scents—
janitors scrubbing toilets, mopping floors;
Lookin’ for blue plumes of forklift fumes—
pallets groaning in harmony with lunch
bucket language of warehouse workers;
Lookin’ for oily mist, machines birthing
stainless steel parts on shop floors;
Listenin’ for punch presses pounding parts
out for machine tools;
Listenin’ for squealing carts of library workers;
Listenin’ for intercoms ordering nurses to stations,
bells releasing teachers to lunch
Lookin’ to stand shoulder to shoulder
with—Workers of the World

I’m a Seoul Man, da-da-da—dat-da-da-da
I’m a Seoul Man, da-da-da—dat-da-da-da
I’m also a Pyongyang, Managua, Manilla,
Teheran Man, too—As opposed to despot
As I am to coup!
When they go high—
Pole dancing palace and peacock throne—
I go low— on my own: grassroots, salt of the earth…
Lookin’ here and there, searchin’ everywhere
Listenin’ for stiffening spine, rattling chain
leaping from guitars and marching to drums;
Lookin’ for ruby banners and fiery pens;
Lookin’ for actors; not dupes and dopes
dangling on dicks of dictators, kleptocrats,
torturers, Czars—like Negroz and liberals
dangled from The Drone Ranger…

© 2019. Raymond Nat Turner, The Town Crier. All Rights Reserved.

© 2019. Raymond Nat Turner, The Town Crier. All Rights Reserved.,br/> Raymond Nat Turner is an accomplished poet and performing artist. You can find much more of his work at http://upsurgejazz.com.

poetry

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


More Stories


  • Russia, Ukraine, and the Race Problem
    Danny Haiphong, BAR Contributing Editor
    Russia, Ukraine, and the Race Problem
    09 Mar 2022
    The American public are inundated with anti-Russian war propaganda that is worse than in the days of the Red Scare.
  • Sanctions: A Sanctimonious Word for Economic Warfare and Outright Theft
    Ann Garrison, BAR Contributing Editor
    Sanctions: A Sanctimonious Word for Economic Warfare and Outright Theft
    09 Mar 2022
    The U.S. claims the right to sanction, to steal from other nations, with one-third of humanity suffering from these crimes. Sanctions are war by other means and cause great suffering…
  •  BAR Book Forum: Lindsey Green-Simms’ Book, “Queer African Cinemas”
    Roberto Sirvent, BAR Book Forum Editor
    BAR Book Forum: Lindsey Green-Simms’ Book, “Queer African Cinemas”
    09 Mar 2022
    In this series, we ask acclaimed authors to answer five questions about their book. This week’s featured author is Lindsey Green-Simms. Green-Simms is Associate Professor of Literature at American…
  • Warfare state of disunion
    Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
    Warfare state of disunion
    09 Mar 2022
                                                           …
  • When Did the Ukraine War Begin?
    Roger D. Harris
    When Did the Ukraine War Begin?
    08 Mar 2022
    The conflict in Ukraine did not start in February 2022. Its roots go back to the 2014 US coup against the elected president of that country.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us