Fighting for Oak Flat/Chi Chil Bildagoteel
âNobody made a greater mistake than he
who did nothing because he could only do little.â
âEdmund Burke
I.
By the time I get to Phoenix
theyâll be risinââ
oh, resisting, planning and
OrganizinââŚ
Theyâll scoff at the judges
owned by the mineâ
and rally us âround an olâ
Apache shrineâŚ
By the time they make SF
weâll be waitinââ
In solidarity and agitatinââŚ
II.
Protect Oak FlatâChi Chil Bildagoteelâfrom the
âDoctrine of Discoveryâ dressed in Forest Service
uniforms. Dressed in war criminal McCain Brooks
Brothers suits; Black robes of Bassackwards Tribes-
men of Thom-ass Clarence-typeâfluent in Forked
Tongue; Facile tearing up treaties, temporary in-
junctions, preliminary restraining ordersâpen
point/gunpointâŚ
Apache Land! 1852 treaty never Amended;
Never rescindedâMust be defended against
copper barons of London/Sydneyâ
Extractorâs blind to sacred springs flowing profit-freeâŚ
Person Hoods who blew up aboriginal Australian rock
shelters; confess in corporate catechism that
Straight, no chaser, âfocuses on finding, mining,
processing the Earth's mineral resourcesâŚâ
Protect Oak FlatâChi Chil Bildagoteelâfrom
copper-coated vampires with wet dreams of sinking
fangs 7,000 feet deep in soil to hurry slurryâdrilling
and spillingâSpilling accidentally on purpose into river;
into aquifer; leaving their Eiffel Tower-sized bite mark
Apache Land! 1852 treaty never Amended;
Never rescindedâMust be defended against
copper barons of London/Sydneyâ
who give less than a mine tailingsâ damn
About acorns, cactus, yucca; About bobcats, black bears,
mountain lions and deer; About Apache prophets, prayers,
religious ritesâRemoved from Holy shareholdersâ wealthâ
The Gospel of GreedâŚ
Protect Oak FlatâChi Chil Bildagoteelâfrom hearingsâ
Hearings hearing whatâs been heard over and over and
over again: âBovine dung-Bovine dung-Bovine dung-
Bovine dungâBull bleep-Bull bleep-Bull bleep-Bull bleep-
Bull bleepââ or, the sweeter scented and sounding version:
âBlah-blah-blah-blahâŚâ
Inspired by the great Isaac Hayesâs version of the great Jim Webbâs
composition, âBy The Time I Get to Phoenix.â
Š 2021. 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:
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Dr. Nicole Price is the Forbes Books author of Spark The Heart: Engineering Empathy In Your Organization.
Nick Encalada-Malinowski is Director of the Civil Rights Union campaign at Vocal-NY.
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