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


  • Anti-Black Racism in Canadian Prisons Remains Rampant, Despite Government Pledges
    Simon Rolston, Nora Demnati
    Anti-Black Racism in Canadian Prisons Remains Rampant, Despite Government Pledges
    13 Oct 2021
    Systemic racism is built into Canada’s prison system, but federal parties have little to offer incarcerated Black Canadians and their families.
  • The Obama Presidential Center Will Displace Black People
    Margaret Kimberley, BAR Executive Editor and Senior Columnist
    The Obama Presidential Center Will Displace Black People
    13 Oct 2021
    The Obama Presidential Center will inevitably displace a working class Black community in Chicago.
  • I’m no nuanced Negro, but…
    Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
    I’m no nuanced Negro, but…
    13 Oct 2021
    I’m no nuanced Negro, but…   I’m no nuanced Negro—never have been—never will be. I’m a lower the forks, pick up the pallet, put it on the
  • Build Back Better Legislation: New Keynesianism or Neoliberal Public Relations Stunt?
    ​​​​​​​ Ajamu Baraka, BAR editor and columnist
    Build Back Better Legislation: New Keynesianism or Neoliberal Public Relations Stunt?
    13 Oct 2021
    Some provisions of Biden’s ā€œBuild Back Betterā€ legislation benefit the masses of Black people, but this legislation is a bare minimum effort to blunt some of the sharpest contradictions of the
  • Many would-be migrants, like the Garifuna, would love nothing more than to stay in their homes. It’s Washington that’s making it difficult.
    Miriam Miranda
    Afro-Indigenous People in Honduras Are Being Forcibly Displaced. Washington Is Complicit.
    13 Oct 2021
    Many would-be migrants, like the Garifuna, would love nothing more than to stay in their homes. It’s Washington that’s making it difficult.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us