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How Long?
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
25 Apr 2018
civilian casualties
Collateral damge, civilian casualty..... how long?

How long? Too long…
How long? Too long…
How long? Too long…
How long? Too long…
have massacres become
‘clashes’ on tongues of
talking heads and pens of scribblers

How long? Too long…
How long? Too long…
How long? Too long…
How long? Too long…
have ‘other’ peoples’ children
become bomb-test babies, named
Collateral Damage; Civilian Casualty

How long? Too long…
How long? Too long…
How long? Too long…
How long? Too long…
have wallets, car keys,
cell phones, candy bars,
become guns in raised black hands

How long? Too long…
How long? Too long…
How long? Too long…
How long? Too long—

Or, until aggrieved
People mistake donuts
for bullseyes; and
$elections
for signals to RISE…

© 2018. Raymond Nat Turner, The Town Crier. All Rights Reserved.

Raymond Nat Turner is Black Agenda Report's poet in residence. Find much more of his work at http://upsurgejazz.com.

poetry
Department of War

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