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

Breathe the Bern…
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
20 Apr 2016
🖨️ Print Article

by BAR poet in residence Raymond Nat Turner

Our poet in residence muses upon the collective madness engendered by the quadrennial presidential election.

Breathe the Bern…

by BAR poet in residence Raymond Nat Turner

Right around this time ‘left’ pundits and
Pontificators hitch worn star-spangled
suspenders to an ol’ mule and pretend they’re
Alcoholics— invoking the serenity prayer:

“God, grant me the serenity
To accept the things I cannot change,
Courage to change the things that I can,
And the wisdom to know the difference.”

They claim theirs is the highest form of self-
discipline; like a form of Yoga, a sacred set of
Breathing exercises in 4yr-cycles—foundation of
their practice is regulation of oxygen to brain cells…

But it looks like the Hokey-Pokey:

You clamp your left nostril down,
Until it feels like you’ll drown…
You clamp your right nostril down,
Until your ‘hood’s like Jonestown—

Then you do the shit again in 4 yrs
As the wily 1% stokes your fears…
Set yourself back another decade
With the practicing of this charade…

Raymond Nat Turner © 2016 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


  • Wilson Center Think Tank Reloads the US Roadmap Against Venezuela
    Misión Verdad
    Wilson Center Think Tank Reloads the US Roadmap Against Venezuela
    15 Feb 2023
    State affiliated think tanks often shape foreign policy in Washington.
  • Black Agenda Radio February 10, 2023
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Black Agenda Radio February 10, 2023
    10 Feb 2023
    The US regime of economic coercive measures is investigated by a newly formed tribunal, prison abolition is a necessity, and so are changes in drug policy.
  • International People's Tribunal on U.S. Imperialism
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    International People's Tribunal on U.S. Imperialism
    10 Feb 2023
    The Tribunal is holding hearings on the impact of sanctions, economic coercive measures, in 16 countries in Latin America, Africa and Asia.
  •  R.E.A.L. Youth Initiative Works for Prison Abolition
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    R.E.A.L. Youth Initiative Works for Prison Abolition
    10 Feb 2023
    R.E.A.L. Youth Initiative develops revolutionary consciousness and community among current and formerly incarcerated youth towards abolition of prisons and the conditions that reproduce them.
  • Biden's Pardon and the Challenge of Changing Marijuana Laws
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Biden's Pardon and the Challenge of Changing Marijuana Laws
    10 Feb 2023
    New congressional legislation is needed to change marijuana laws.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us