By BAR poet in residence Raymond Nat Turner
In two works of poetry this week, Turner offers cogent observations on two phenomena, one that pretty much works as intended, and another enterprise that despite the wishes of many consistently and predictably goes awry.
it works…
by BAR poet in residence Raymond Nat Turner
spittle trickling from
the side of his mouth,
eyes rolling round like
pinballs…in his sweat-
beaded head…
they finally found
the vein they repeatedly
punctured his pin cushion,
high fructose-fattened flesh
searching for.
writhing,
moaning, jerking,
lurching, convulsing—
primitively strapped
to their updated,
horizontal, death device
dancing an obscene,
grotesque
Arkansas Shuffle:
assembly line murder
2 persons per day—
1l—in half a week
Why such rush?
They must die before
the chemicals expire.
Who's Moving Who
by BAR poet in residence Raymond Nat Turner
High on the hog, mule-
heads and handlers meet
in a Manhattan hotel—
Operatives, confidential informants,
Mouthpieces for fruit companies
and death squads hold court—
Harnessing left motion
sliding
down
the
Hill
Feeling the Bern
Stop! In the name of love
Before you break my heart
Think it over…
The mule’s a stubborn
kinda fella—ass
with big ears that
Hear your every word,
while hiding a mind
of his own
Many men and women
moved the mule
Left—
years later, finding
They, themselves, moved
Right—
running in place…
mired in mule dung—
Who’s moving who?
Raymond Nat Turner © 2017 All Rights Reserved
Raymond Nat Turner is an acclaimed poet and performance artist. Find much more of his work at
The following is a manifesto in the full sense of the word; a Black anarchist’s proposal for a sweeping approach to a nation and world without capitalism.
The US bid for sanctions against Eritrea was rebuked by the UN Security Council, so the imperial bloc had to settle for European sanctions against the fiercely independent African government.
$13 billion aircraft carriers, $10 pencils and $500 hammers, renamed “portable hand-held transcribing devices” and “impact fasteners;” so war-profiteer pimps—war
In 1921 thousands of whites attacked the Black population of Tulsa, Oklahoma with machine guns, airplanes, fire and pure hatred, killing at least 300.
More policing rarely results in justice for anyone, and only puts Black, Indigenous, and other communities of color (BIPOC), including Asian people, at risk for more violence.
