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Think…
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
06 Jan 2021
Think…

Think of peoples having the most
tanks, the most drones, the most
missiles, bombs, aircraft carriers, 
guns, ammo and night vision goggles

Think of peoples having the slowest
trains, slowest internet; worst health-
care
the most citizens locked up and un-
housed
the most citizens killed by ‘their’ police…

Think of peoples having the most un-
tested, infected—the most dead from
a virus they treated with laws of the 
Market…

Think of these peoples thousands of miles
away believing their ‘freedoms’ flow from
our pipelines…

Think of stone-cold continuity of their
corporate-sponsored Kabuki Theater—
Mascots, flaming ‘feet to the fire’ Kente
Cloth dialogue…much ado about nada…

Think 800 bipartisan bases from faraway
places—lily pads frogs spring into
Action from— policing our pipelines, ports,
mines, streets, our peoples—our elections…

Think of Chinese bases encircling Chicago;
Afghan, Pakistani bases punctuating Philly;
Indian, Nicaraguan bases nestled near New York;
Iranian, Albanian bases peppering L.A.—SF Bay

Think of those peoples’ war criminals
wilding out; Scratching each others’
backs; doing ‘The Monkey—‘ “Not looking
back…” Think three branches of monkeys—
regime after bipartisan regime which
Sees no Evil; Hears no Evil; Speaks no Evil…
of Empire…Ever…

© 2020. Raymond Nat Turner, The Town Crier. All Rights Reserved.

* Q

Cool as Bebop on the North Pole—
philosopher waxing in Soul
So cool his cologne was the Blues—
doubling down on Ps and Qs

A different cat in a hat
with poetic scat-a-tat-tat—
So out he was in—then back out 
Sprinkling poetry about…

Once there were 4 
cool cats
Then 3
and now 2—
Apollo’s drafting heavily 
from that crew…

First he drafts Reg—and now he drafts Q—
what was once a foursome is now two—
Cat’s breaking up that ol’ gang of mine
for ancestral space with no redline… 

I celebrate Q with my lil’ rhyme—
Today’s all we have— “Now’s The Time!”
Blessings to the family and crew—
Love you, man, and bid you adieu…

       * Harlem Poet/activist/organizer Q..R. Hand, Jr.

© 2020. Raymond Nat Turner, The Town Crier. All Rights Reserved.       

BAR’s poet in residence Raymond Nat Turner is an accomplished performing artist. You can find much more of his work at https://www.youtube.com/user/zigilow

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