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

A Poet's Proposal for DT's Inauguration
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
10 Jan 2017
šŸ–Øļø Print Article

by BAR poet in residence Raymond Nat Turner

Word is that president-elect Donald Trump still has performance openings for next week's inaugural. In the selfless and noble spirit of public service, our poet kindly offers his own services, and anxiously awaits a response from Rump tower.

A Poet's Proposal for DT's Inauguration

by BAR poet in residence Raymond Nat Turner

Bet you wonderin’ how I knew

Few are willin’ to perform for you?

I heard it through the grapevine

Also on TV, radio and online…

I ain’t A-list—

F-list, maybe?

Not a seven-figga n**** or War House Hoet in the

Retinue the Drone Ranger plays like plastic kazoos—

Yet, I’m willing to serve, sir:

Call it Patriot Act III!

Willing to audition, practice, rehearse—gratis—

get on the back of a Greyhound bus, brown bag,

greasy fried chicken, like the good ol’ days…

Apply a plastic smile, applaud on cue, shuffle, shake hands with

Strong-arm Williams, Sheriff Stephen Judas Clarke, Thom-ass

Clarence, and other warlike Bassackwards Tribal leaders

I’m willing to get William Withers with you, sir:

It’s my appointed duty

To let you use me

Get me in a crowd of right-wing racists and act real rude to me—

ā€˜Cause I wanna spread the news:

That if it trends this good gettin’ used

Come on, use me ā€˜til you use me up—

My fifteen-minutes of FLAME!!

Raymond Nat Turner is an acclaimed poet and performance artist. Find more of his work at http://upsurgejazz.com.

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


More Stories


  • Remembering the 2020 Black Lives Matter Uprising/Cuba and Venezuela in Focus w/Jacqueline Luqman
    Danny Haiphong and Margaret Kimberley
    Remembering the 2020 Black Lives Matter Uprising/Cuba and Venezuela in Focus w/Jacqueline Luqman
    10 Jun 2022
    Journalist and activist Jacqueline Luqman joins the Left Lens to discuss the two year anniversary of the BLM uprisings and her recent trips to Cuba and Venezuela.
  • Black Agenda Radio June 10, 2022
    Margaret Kimberley, BAR Executive Editor and Senior Columnist
    Black Agenda Radio June 10, 2022
    10 Jun 2022
    The UK sends asylum seekers to Rwanda, the number of police killings in the U.S. continue unabated, and the Democratic Republic of Congo is threatened by U.S. client states and comprador, neo-…
  • The UK Will Send Asylum Seekers to Rwanda
    Margaret Kimberley, BAR Executive Editor and Senior Columnist
    The UK Will Send Asylum Seekers to Rwanda
    10 Jun 2022
    The United Kingdom is paying the Rwandan government $150 million to accept asylum seekers. The UK is accelerating deportations and denial of legal rights to Global South immigrants. Fiona of the…
  • Number of Police Killings in 2022 Outpace 2021
    Margaret Kimberley, BAR Executive Editor and Senior Columnist
    Number of Police Killings in 2022 Outpace 2021
    10 Jun 2022
    Police killings continue at a rate of more than 1,000 per year in the U.S., with 2022 numbers outpacing those of 2021. Sam Simyangwe of Mapping Police Violence provides analysis of the death toll and…
  • Congo Attacked by U.S. Client States and Neo-Colonial Politics
    Margaret Kimberley, BAR Executive Editor and Senior Columnist
    Congo Attacked by U.S. Client States and Neo-Colonial Politics
    10 Jun 2022
    The Democratic Republic of Congo lives under threat of attack from neighboring U.S. client states Rwanda and Uganda. Its neo-colonial leadership acts on the direction of Washington and Europe.…
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us