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
  • omnibus

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

COMMENTS?

Please join the conversation on Black Agenda Report's Facebook page at http://facebook.com/blackagendareport

poetry

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


Related Stories

Our ‘democracy’
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
Our ‘democracy’
23 July 2021
Shangri-La—untaxed, socially-distanced champagne- caviar, Cayman Island, yacht crowds who
Pigment of your Imagination: Black magic mascots, props and sops?
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
Pigment of your Imagination: Black magic mascots, props and sops?
15 July 2021
Could the pigment of your imagination cause Black magic mascots, props, sops— Black faces in high places—
A known known…
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
A known known…
08 July 2021
“…there are known knowns. There are things we know that we know. There are known
Twerkers of the World you might…(Or when they go low we get high?)
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
Twerkers of the World you might…(Or when they go low we get high?)
01 July 2021
“History repeats itself,  first as tragedy, second as farce.” —Karl Marx
The Town Crier’s Big Tooth Fund (For Drs. Rosenthal, Sapir and Ferdowsi)
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
The Town Crier’s Big Tooth Fund (For Drs. Rosenthal, Sapir and Ferdowsi)
23 June 2021
"From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs…” —Karl Marx
The Town Crier’s List of Who’s Who in the capitalist state machine
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
The Town Crier’s List of Who’s Who in the capitalist state machine
16 June 2021
“Ain’t no power like the power of the people— ‘cause the power of the people don’t stop!” bouncing 
Ladee Blu: Another Monroe Doctrine delivery system 
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
Ladee Blu: Another Monroe Doctrine delivery system 
09 June 2021
Raytheon’s craven raven Co-signing for mass murder: “Mowing the grass…” Now… Ladee Blu on a fool’s errand dis-
MOVE Tulsa to Gaza…
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
MOVE Tulsa to Gaza…
02 June 2021
The Mass Shooting Of The Day— this time was in San Jose… Do you know the way to San Jose?
Raymond Nat Turner , BAR poet-in-residence
Preachin’ to the Choir (for Joe, Linda, Tim…)
26 May 2021
2020’s hindsight—frost in the rearview mirror. Miles Ahead… I’m Sheltered in Solidarity with National Poetry Month and
Herd impunity?
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
Herd impunity?
19 May 2021
What if a colonial settler state accidentally vaccinated 61% of its population With a virulent variant of a vicious virus?

More Stories


  • Humanitarian Hawks Demand War on Ethiopia, National Guard Deploys to the Horn
    Ann Garrison, BAR Contributing Editor
    Humanitarian Hawks Demand War on Ethiopia, National Guard Deploys to the Horn
    14 Dec 2021
    News of the deployment of National Guard troops to an unspecified location in the Horn of Africa is an indication that US interference in the region will continue.
  • The Gerry-Mander
    Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
    Extinction
    14 Dec 2021
                                                                                                                         Extinction  
  • BAR Book Forum: William C. Anderson’s “The Nation on No Map”
    Roberto Sirvent
    BAR Book Forum: William C. Anderson’s “The Nation on No Map”
    14 Dec 2021
    In this series, we ask acclaimed authors to answer five questions about their book. This week’s featured author is William C. Anderson.
  • U.S. Corporate Media Watch: An Interview with Richard Medhurst
    Richard Medhurst and Roberto Sirvent
    U.S. Corporate Media Watch: An Interview with Richard Medhurst
    14 Dec 2021
    Richard and Roberto would like to dedicate this feature to Glen Ford, one of the fiercest critics of U.S. corporate media the country has ever known.
  • How the Left Can Get Ethiopia Right: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly with #NoMore
    Filmon Zerai
    How the Left Can Get Ethiopia Right: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly with #NoMore
    14 Dec 2021
    The best way for leftist anti-imperialists to support Ethiopia is to not take a hardline position on the internal politics of the country.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us