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

What makes you hopeful? (For Kris and KT)
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
26 Jan 2022
What makes you hopeful? (For Kris and KT)

                                                                                                               What makes you hopeful?
                                                                                                                     (For Kris and KT)

                                                                                                         ”…I hope someday you’ll join us.
                                                                                                           And the world will live as one.”
                                                                                                                     —John Lennon

There are times she asks me, “What gives you hope?”
I say, “Ain’t The Audacity of Dope—“
Ol’ Schmo, Slick Willy or The Drone Ranger
It’s random acts of kindness from a stranger
It’s Farmers Markets, Co-Ops and mutual aid
It’s those first crayon drawings my children made!

It’s couples taking care of each other
It’s a professor teaching his grandmother
It’s the bad saxophonist who can sing—
It’s the hot Jazz group that can playground swing
It’s a young drummer who’s living his dream…
It’s John Coltrane blowing A Love Supreme!

It’s the cozy, sable, zippered sweater
It’s brilliant teachers making me better
It’s red flags flying from a church steeple—
It’s gangstas woke—now serving the people!

It’s school children walking out in protest
It’s freedom fighters who risk arrest…
It’s an addict living clean and sober
It’s Ferguson’s thru-line to Strike-tober
It’s speeches of Malcolm and Dr. King
It’s George Floyd Summer thawing Arab Spring…

It’s my ‘rabbi’ dying—then coming back
It’s waking up this morning—proud and Black
It’s fifteen minutes of flame once a week—
It’s Tryin’/Tranein’ for my Wikileak!

© 2022. Raymond Nat Turner, The Town Crier. All Rights Reserved.

Former forklift driver/warehouse worker/janitor, 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: https://www.gofundme.com/f/the-town-criers-big-tooth-fund

PayPal: paypal.me/towncrierRNT

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


More Stories


  • Black Agenda Radio May 27, 2022
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Black Agenda Radio May 27, 2022
    27 May 2022
    East New York Community Land Trust reports on NYPD use of vacant land, John Parker's fact-finding trip to Russia and Ukraine, and a Greenville, North Carolina organizer explains the significance of…
  • East New York Community Land Trust Reports on NYPD Use of Vacant Land
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    East New York Community Land Trust Reports on NYPD Use of Vacant Land
    27 May 2022
    Boris Santos is Treasurer of the East New York Community Land Trust Board of Directors, and Debra Ayck is the Board’s Secretary. The Land Trust held a press conference on May 21st at which they…
  • John Parker's Fact-finding Trip to Russia and Ukraine
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    John Parker's Fact-finding Trip to Russia and Ukraine
    27 May 2022
    John Parker is a member of the Socialist Unity party and a senatorial candidate on the Peace and Freedom party ticket in California. He just returned from a fact-finding trip to Russia and Ukraine.…
  • Greenville, North Carolina Organizer Explains Significance of African Liberation Day
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Greenville, North Carolina Organizer Explains Significance of African Liberation Day
    27 May 2022
    Mapinduzi is a Greenville, North Carolina community organization dedicated to advancing political education. Mapinduzi is planning African Liberation Day events on Saturday, May 28. We spoke to Dedan…
  • African Liberation Day Special Issue
    BAR Editors
    African Liberation Day Special Issue
    25 May 2022
    The Black Agenda Report team gives special emphasis to African Liberation Day, which is celebrated on May 25.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us