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

Erehwon (Shangri La Utopia)
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
12 Feb 2025
🖨️ Print Article
AI generated image of Gaza
AI generated image of Gaza found in Israeli Prime Minister, Netanyahu's proposal for Gaza

Baby, baby, sign our contract on
Land
Baby, baby, sign our contract on
Land

Sign it—sign it—sign it—Oooh:
It's the humane thing to do
Land without people, for people with-
Out enough land in their fat portfolios!

With crimson-stained crypto-money, we’ll
Remake it into a Land Of Milk And Honey—
Riviera Of The Middle East—
Go live your shortened lives out in peace …

Phenomenal waterfront property!
A beautiful place. Billionaire base.
On our way to space! Prime real estate!
No need to wait … Make Amerikkka Grate!

We’ll make you an offer you can’t refuse.
Send you photos, videos, of luxury condos.
Just sign on the line. It’s temporary! It’s voluntary!
Ask Apache, Comanche; ask Cherokee, Cheyenne.

It’s temporary! It’s voluntary!
Be just like ’48— Until we do 2 State!
Ask Ohlone; ask Lakota, Iroquois;
Ask Sioux, Shoshone, Seminole, Navajo.

Abra-Cadaver! Bodies buried beneath the
Rubble will disappear in a day. Undergird
Hotel parking lots. Hey, come on, abandon those
Terrible tents— And collect astronomical rents!

Hocus-Pocus! We’ll create jobs. Good jobs. See the
9th hole over there! Golf balls on tees—Just toss
Us your keys …
Your uncles, your daddies, will make great caddies!
Alakazam! Pulverized concrete, busted buildings,
Rebar snaking to the stars will vanish! Disappear.
Go away. Become plush casinos for hi-roller
Gambling! Be like Cuba— before the revolution!

No more Nakbas! Won’t suffer no more. No more
Rubble. Big opportunity. Great chance to earn!
No more worry ‘bout the Right of Return! Just toss
Us those keys. Just sign on the line. Erase yourself!

Fuhgeddabout the olive trees. Just pack up and toss us the keys.
Presto! No more Skunk water! No Caterpillars bulldozing your
Homes. No 2000 lb. bombs dropped on your babies … We’ll even
Clean up unexploded bombs—Address your qualms—Prevent pogroms!

No more Nakbas … No more Trails of Tears … No more crazy,
Crisscrossing checkpoints and roads you can’t travel. No more
Hospitals and bakeries bombed. No more universities leveled.
No more mosques razed. Erase yourself. Just leave us the land!

Just self deport. It’s voluntary! It’s temporary!
In the name of the Riviera Of The Middle East—
Exodus! And live long shortened lives out in peace … This will be a
Land Of Milk And Honey/of Crypto funny money— called Erehwon …

© 2025. 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.

Gaza
Palestine
ethnic cleansing

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


Related Stories

x
Craig Mokhiber
No, Israel does not have ‘a right to exist.’ Quite the contrary, actually.
04 August 2026
"Unlike the Zionist claim that 'Israel has a right to exist,' my assertion is rooted in international law.
Nicaragua
Becca Renk Foster
Nicaragua to Raise Its Voice for Palestine in Another Landmark Case at the ICJ
04 August 2026
Against the backdrop of Israel’s renewed attacks on Palestine, the World Court is set to hold public hearings in Septembe
Ramzy Baroud
The Spark in Tell: How a Village Resistance Disrupted Israel’s West Bank Strategy
29 July 2026
Palestinians have the right to defend themselves under international law and they exercised it in the town of Tell on the West Bank. 
Noah Hurowitz
Trump’s Sanctions Against the ICC Are Unconstitutional, Rights Groups Say
22 July 2026
The human rights groups’ suit came as the Trump administration vowed to destroy the International Criminal Court entirely.
Jeremy Scahill , Jawa Ahmad
Exclusive: Internal Documents Show Trump’s “Board of Peace“ Moving to Crush Palestinian Self-Determination
24 June 2026
Gaza proposals obtained by Drop Site show Trump’s board attempting to force a Palestinian surrender that Israel could not achieve in war.
Ramzy Baroud
Why Didn’t Iran Put Gaza on the Table? A Difficult Answer
03 June 2026
From Gaza to Tehran, from the politics of resistance to the limits of regional diplomacy, a pressing question has resurfaced amid the 2026 war:
Editors, The Black Agenda Review
ESSAY: The Palestine Question: Background and Solution, Edward Atiyah, 1946
20 May 2026
“It is impossible to make a national home for one people in a country inhabited by another, except by dislodging the latter.”
Ann Garrison, BAR Contributing Editor
Regarding Nuclear War Between Israel and Iran
15 April 2026
The political fallout from Trump’s recklessness in West Asia continues around the globe, while some wonder how far the radioactive fa
​​​​​​​ Ajamu Baraka, BAR editor and columnist , Margaret Kimberley, BAR Executive Editor and Senior Columnist
What is the 'Left' in the Era of Global Fascism
18 March 2026
There is no coherent and sustained leftist movement at the very moment that U.S. led global fascism is accelerating.
​​​​​​​ Ajamu Baraka, BAR editor and columnist
The Light of Palestine Will Lead the Way to Global Liberation
18 March 2026
Black Agenda Report Editor and Columnist, Ajamu Baraka, recently gave a presentation at the 4th International Conference “Palestine: The Nation

More Stories


  • An Open Letter to Current and Former Prisoners, Their Families, Friends, and Comrades
    Shaka Shakur
    An Open Letter to Current and Former Prisoners, Their Families, Friends, and Comrades
    15 Feb 2023
    "We cannot go through decades of this physical and psychological abuse behind these walls and think We are coming home undamaged, without scars," explains New African political prisoner Shaka Shakur.
  • We Condemn the Repression in Cap Cana That Left One Haitian Worker Dead and Several Injured
    Socialist Movement of Workers of the Dominican Republic
    We Condemn the Repression in Cap Cana That Left One Haitian Worker Dead and Several Injured
    15 Feb 2023
    Violence against Haitians and Haitian descended people continues in the Dominican Republic. The Socialist Movement of Workers of the Dominican Republic condemn the latest state sanctioned…
  • The Snitch in the Silver Hearse: The FBI Paid a Violent Felon to Infiltrate Denver’s Racial Justice Movement
    Trevor Aaronson
    The Snitch in the Silver Hearse: The FBI Paid a Violent Felon to Infiltrate Denver’s Racial Justice Movement
    15 Feb 2023
    COINTELPRO never ended. The FBI still pays informants to disrupt, to target organizers, and to spy on the movement.
  • Star Spangled Blackness: How The 1619 Project Celebrates An Anti-African, Black American Identity
    Dr. Charity Clay
    Star Spangled Blackness: How The 1619 Project Celebrates An Anti-African, Black American Identity
    15 Feb 2023
    Black people must differentiate between pride in self and their ancestors and any attempt to forge connections with the nation that continues to oppress.
  • Wilson Center Think Tank Reloads the US Roadmap Against Venezuela
    Misión Verdad
    Wilson Center Think Tank Reloads the US Roadmap Against Venezuela
    15 Feb 2023
    State affiliated think tanks often shape foreign policy in Washington.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us