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

Porcine Doctrine
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
08 Oct 2014
🖨️ Print Article

by poet-in-residence Raymond Nat Turner

Breathe
Relax
Aim
Sight
Squeeze

 

Off bulls eyes on ‘suspects’ backs
’10 rings’ in ‘suspects’ chests
Rummage through trusty ‘war bags’ for
Guns with filed-off serial #s in baggies,
Get good prints from warm hands as
They bleed out, or just let the gun drop
From the baggy, beside the bleeding out 
‘Suspects,’ the shootees’ bodies—did your
Partner bark out cover-up commands?
“Drop the gun!” “Put down your weapon!”
“Don’t do it, Johnny!” “Stop resisting!”

It’s gonna be a “good shoot,” “in policy”
Now, gift-wrap the square, the circle, in
Yellow ribbon: POLICE LINE DO NOT 
CROSS; call for backup to secure the scene,
While you and your partner, huddle, and get
David Mametish, Michael Mannish, Octavia
Butlerish about what just went down and
The ‘suspects’ bleed out—dead men don’t
Talk, finger officers, file complaints or suits…

Not bad, third in three years, the crew
Will toast you in the bar tonight as you
Ponder paid vacation and desk duty…
“I feared for my safety, my partner’s safety”
“Suspicious activity” “Suspects were facing
The wall with their backs to my partner and
I, one hand on the wall and one hand at their…
Waistbands” “They disobeyed my command to 
Drop their weapons and turned slowly with dicks 
In their hands—which, in the dim light, that split 
Second, appeared to be small caliber handguns…”

Raymond Nat Turner can be contacted at Raymond (at) upsurgejazz.com
Raymond Nat Turner © 2014 All Rights Reserved

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


More Stories


  • McCarthyism Redux
    Riva Enteen
    McCarthyism Redux
    13 Nov 2019
    The National Lawyers Guild, born in resistance to political witch-hunts, seems to have neutered itself in the face of the new wave of manufactured hysteria.
  • The Robbers Come Home to Roost
    Dr. Kweli Nzito
    The Robbers Come Home to Roost
    13 Nov 2019
    The US has made violation of legal and civilizational norms…normal, guaranteeing that the demons it has unleashed on the world will be returned-to-sender.
  • Dems and Repubs are Moneypots, Not Real Political Parties
    Glen Ford , BAR executive editor
    Dems and Repubs are Moneypots, Not Real Political Parties
    12 Nov 2019
    If the Democrats were a real, mass based party, they would never consider Joe Biden as their nominee because he has no support among the people that energize parties: the youth.
  • Black Agenda Radio for Week of November 11, 2019
    Black Agenda Radio with Nellie Bailey and Glen Ford
    Black Agenda Radio for Week of November 11, 2019
    12 Nov 2019
    Ruling Class “Crisis of Legitimacy” is Behind “Bernie Blackout”
  • White Supremacy Goes Back to the Crusades
    Black Agenda Radio with Nellie Bailey and Glen Ford
    White Supremacy Goes Back to the Crusades
    12 Nov 2019
    The roots of western European anti-Blackness lie in the Middle Ages, in the Crusades to seize Arab lands, said Cord Whitaker, a professor at Wellesley College and author of “B
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us