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
🖨️ 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—

‘Cause I wanna spread the news:

That if it trends this good gettin’ used

Come on, use me ‘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


  • 2022 may be the year that new evidence is released in the case of political prisoner Mumia Abu Jamal.
    Johanna Fernández
    New Legal Filing in Mumia’s Case
    12 Jan 2022
    2022 may be the year that new evidence is released in the case of political prisoner Mumia Abu Jamal.
  • US War Lobby Fuels Conflict in Russia, Ukraine, and Syria: Ex-Pentagon Advisor
    Aaron Maté
    US War Lobby Fuels Conflict in Russia, Ukraine, and Syria: Ex-Pentagon Advisor
    12 Jan 2022
    A former senior advisor at the Pentagon confirms what was obvious to those who pay attention.
  • US Bombing Wars Remain Hidden from the American People
    Medea Benjamin and Nicolas J. S. Davies  
    US Bombing Wars Remain Hidden from the American People
    12 Jan 2022
    The military revealed the extent of its deadliness, acknowledging 337,000 bombs dropped around the world for the last 20 years.
  • Covid Fueled by Neoliberal Austerity
    Margaret Kimberley, BAR Executive Editor and Senior Columnist
    Covid Fueled by Neoliberal Austerity
    05 Jan 2022
    The neo-liberal austerity model of governance ensures that Covid-19 will continue spreading and producing new variants. Only people focused public health remedies will end the pa
  • Ukraine: What Does it Have to Do with Black Folks?
    ​​​​​​​ Ajamu Baraka, BAR editor and columnist
    Ukraine: What Does it Have to Do with Black Folks?
    05 Jan 2022
    “…it is imperative that everyone, in particular Black and working-class people, understand that not having an awareness of the interconnections of the “grind” (the struggle to survive in the U.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us