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


  • Insurance Industry Vital to US Slavery
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley and Glen Ford
    Insurance Industry Vital to US Slavery
    10 Aug 2020
    Insuring one’s slave ā€œis actually a better financial decision than insuring other kinds of property,ā€ said Dr Michael Ralph, director of Africana Studies at New York Universit
  • Black Brazilians Hit Hard by Covid-19
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley and Glen Ford
    Black Brazilians Hit Hard by Covid-19
    10 Aug 2020
    Brazil and the US lead the world in coronavirus fatalities, with Blacks in both countries dying disproportionately, said Jaime Amparo Alves, an author and social anthropologis
  • ā€œBlack Augustā€ Honors Captives of Armed Struggle
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley and Glen Ford
    ā€œBlack Augustā€ Honors Captives of Armed Struggle
    10 Aug 2020
    ā€œBlack August started in San Quentin to highlight the armed struggle,ā€ said Jihad Abdulmumit, chairperson of the Jericho Movement, which advocates for political prisoners
  • Political Prisoners: ā€œSay Their Namesā€
    Glen Ford, BAR Executive Editor
    Political Prisoners: ā€œSay Their Namesā€
    06 Aug 2020
    Unless folks are under the delusion that victory over the ā€œfascistsā€ is imminent, the condition of political prisoners should be a deeply personal, as well as political, concern to all activists.
  • Freedom Rider: How Trump Can Steal the 2020 Election
    Margaret Kimberley, BAR senior columnist
    Freedom Rider: How Trump Can Steal the 2020 Election
    05 Aug 2020
    The election was stolen from Clinton four years ago and the even weaker 2020 candidate can expect the same fate.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us