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 …

Š 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

Ramzy Baroud
Solidarity Is Not Enough
19 August 2026
Why the world must force accountability on Gaza now.
Natalia Junquera , Elena Reina
Fergie Chambers, the Millionaire Activist Arrested in Ibiza: “I am a human rights advocate”
19 August 2026
The American's lawyers, led by Baltasar GarzĂłn, denounce a "political persecution" by Trump for his support of Palestine.
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

More Stories


  • US’s Flaunting of Diplomatic Immunity Challenged in Court –  Imprisoned Venezuelan Diplomat Contests Extraterritorial Judicial Abuse
    Roger D. Harris
    US’s Flaunting of Diplomatic Immunity Challenged in Court – Imprisoned Venezuelan Diplomat Contests Extraterritorial Judicial Abuse
    12 Apr 2022
    The Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations protects the rights of Alex Saab. But the Trump administration violated international law in charging him with a crime and the Biden administration…
  • US Officials Admit They’re Literally Just Lying To The Public About Russia
    Caitlin Johnstone
    US Officials Admit They’re Literally Just Lying To The Public About Russia
    12 Apr 2022
    Intelligent observers know that the state uses corporate media to spread its narrative. Recently the Biden administration admitted what was already obvious.
  • International Law and "European Civilisation"
    Christopher Gevers
    International Law and "European Civilisation"
    12 Apr 2022
    Despite its promises of universalism, international law has clearly not yet shaken its foundation as a racial order. The author observes the contradictions in South Africa.
  • Imperialism and GMOs in Kenya: A Perspective from Social Movements
    Review of African Political Economy
    Imperialism and GMOs in Kenya: A Perspective from Social Movements
    12 Apr 2022
    Noosim Naimasiah interviews Irene Asuwa and Cidi Otieno about food sovereignty, ecologically appropriate production, distribution and consumption, social-economic justice, and local food systems…
  • Biden Proposes $30 Billion for Policing
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Biden Proposes $30 Billion for Policing
    08 Apr 2022
    President Joe Biden is proposing $30 billion in new funding to states and localities to hire more police. He and other democrats make clear they want to silence the demand for defunding the police.…
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us