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

I Celebrate Red Roses of Resistance
BAR Poet-in-Residence Raymond Nat Turner
30 Oct 2019
🖨️ Print Article
I Celebrate Red Roses of Resistance
I Celebrate Red Roses of Resistance

San Francisco singer sitting in a Manhattan
restaurant, ringlets trickling down ‘round
Angelic paper bag brown face, like sweat
gathering on her glass of white wine.
Her fries stand at attention, saluting
from stainless steel cylinder. Bold white 
letters emblazon her tight-fitting black tee-shirt:

             “IMPEACH
THE MOTHERFUCKER!”

I celebrate red roses of resistance—
tiniest spark in the dark…
bumper sticker, slogan, soundbite;
tiny tussle, or Good Fight. I rejoice at
friction—contradiction—more beautiful 
than perfect…Embryonic class struggle…
Obeying revolution’s laws written in Russian,
Arabic, Creole, Chinese, Spanish, Farsi, French,
English and oceans of blood over Africa, Asia and 
the Americas.
I celebrate them like
I celebrate red roses of resistance—
that pierced cracker Cotton Curtain
claims, “Our nigras were fine until
the Jews started coming down from
New York and stirring them up…”

I celebrate red roses of resistance—
Marching through melting ice, burning forests,
into teargas storms, truncheons, torture and its
elastic time…

I celebrate red roses of resistance—
Revolting warehouse workers, janitors,
truck drivers, bus drivers, carpenters.
Rebelling rubber, steel, auto, longshore,
fast food workers! Resisting teachers, 
nurses, train operators, youth and students!

I celebrate red roses of resistance—
blooming behind bars, springing up from
solitary, baring concertina wire thorns!
Resistance rallying ‘round time clocks, water
coolers, rising from rivers, bursting forth from 
fertile football fields!
Resistance rearing its beautiful head 
in classrooms, concert halls, halls of 
congress, pews, pulpits, side streets, 
back alleys—the planet’s unlikeliest 
nooks and crannies!

I celebrate red roses of resistance—
sprinkling spring water and compost,
grown folks’ faith in the masses; love 
of the people—the 99%—making messy

History…

© 2019. Raymond Nat Turner, The Town Crier. All Rights Reserved.

Raymond Nat Turner is an accomplished poet and performing artist. You can find much more of his work at http://upsurgejazz.com.

COMMENTS?

Please join the conversation on Black Agenda Report's Facebook page at http://facebook.com/blackagendareport

Or, you can comment by emailing us at comments@blackagendareport.com

Impeachment

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


Related Stories

Ukrainian Roulette: The “Ukrainegate” Gamble
Enzo Calandra
Ukrainian Roulette: The “Ukrainegate” Gamble
04 December 2019
Liberals have enlisted the CIA to repudiate a clearly obscene and grotesque president because they themselves are obscene and grotesque in many of
Freedom Rider: The Ukrainegate Farce
Margaret Kimberley , BAR editor and senior columnist
Freedom Rider: The Ukrainegate Farce
20 November 2019
The Democrats are hoping that Ukrainegate will succeed where Russiagate failed and they can win the presidency without helping their voters.
Impeachment and the Long Road to a Democratic Party Defeat in 2020
Danny Haiphong , BAR contributor
Impeachment and the Long Road to a Democratic Party Defeat in 2020
09 October 2019
Impeachment helps the Democratic Party catch a breath of temporary relief from subjects such as Medicare for All or climate catastrophe.
Impeachment Watch
Ann Garrison , BAR contributor
Impeachment Watch
09 October 2019
In their crusade to get Trump and distract from their own corruption, the Democrats have moved on from Russiagate to an impeachment inquiry over “U
Impeachable Boss Tweet
BAR Poet-in-Residence Raymond Nat Turner
Impeachable Boss Tweet
09 October 2019
in the swamp, downstream  not far from the White Supreme Court and Capitalist Hill,

More Stories


  • Image of Refaat Alareer sitting in a crowd of graduates
    Editors, The Black Agenda Review
    POEM: If I Must Die, Refaat Alareer, 2023
    13 Dec 2023
    Palestinian poet Refaat Alareer, a martyr of zionist state genocidal violence, has left us with a tale of resistance and hope.
  • Fists in the air
    ​​​​​​​ Ajamu Baraka, BAR editor and columnist
    Musings from the Margins #4: Black Lackeys, White Social Democrats, Human Rights and Empire’s Decline
    13 Dec 2023
    Black Agenda Report Editor and Columnist Ajamu Baraka has thoughts on Black Misleadership, faux human rights, the decline of the Empire, white Social Democrats, and other issues.
  • Pro-Palestinian protestors rally in support of Palestinians in Gaza
    Ann Garrison, BAR Contributing Editor
    One State Reality
    13 Dec 2023
    Recognizing the one state reality of Israel-Palestine instead of two-state dreaming would be a huge paradigm shift with huge implications.
  • Joy James speaking on a panel at the Center for the Study of Slavery and Justice's Carceral State Reading
    Roberto Sirvent, BAR Book Forum Editor
    BAR Book Forum: Joy James’ Book, “New Bones Abolition”
    13 Dec 2023
    In this series, we ask acclaimed authors to answer five questions about their book. This week’s featured author is Joy James. Dr. James is Ebenezer Fitch Professor of Humanities at Williams College.…
  • Mia Mottley of the Barbados Labor Party
    Keston K. Perry
    The Mirage of Mia Mottley’s ‘Progressive’ Politics
    13 Dec 2023
    Despite the praise she receives for being the “progressive” leader needed in the Caribbean, Mia Mottley and her policies in Barbados and her work within CARICOM have not veered outside the realm of…
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us