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

Breathe the Bern…
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
20 Apr 2016
🖨️ Print Article

by BAR poet in residence Raymond Nat Turner

Our poet in residence muses upon the collective madness engendered by the quadrennial presidential election.

Breathe the Bern…

by BAR poet in residence Raymond Nat Turner

Right around this time ‘left’ pundits and
Pontificators hitch worn star-spangled
suspenders to an ol’ mule and pretend they’re
Alcoholics— invoking the serenity prayer:

“God, grant me the serenity
To accept the things I cannot change,
Courage to change the things that I can,
And the wisdom to know the difference.”

They claim theirs is the highest form of self-
discipline; like a form of Yoga, a sacred set of
Breathing exercises in 4yr-cycles—foundation of
their practice is regulation of oxygen to brain cells…

But it looks like the Hokey-Pokey:

You clamp your left nostril down,
Until it feels like you’ll drown…
You clamp your right nostril down,
Until your ‘hood’s like Jonestown—

Then you do the shit again in 4 yrs
As the wily 1% stokes your fears…
Set yourself back another decade
With the practicing of this charade…

Raymond Nat Turner © 2016 All Rights Reserved

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


More Stories


  • Gerald A. Perreira
    Turning Its Back on Cuba: Government of Guyana Sells Its Soul
    25 Feb 2026
    Cuba has provided Guyana with doctors, scholarships, and healthcare for nearly five decades. In return, Guyana's government has turned its back at the moment of Cuba's greatest need.
  • Jason Myles
    The Rainbow and the Machine: The Jesse Jackson Phenomenon
    25 Feb 2026
    Jesse Jackson's legacy is complicated and sometimes contradictory, as he engaged in both radicalism and in political expediency.
  • Murtaza Hussain , Ryan Grim
    Epstein Flipped Israel’s Gaza-Tested Biometric Scanners Into Nigeria Ports Deal for UAE
    25 Feb 2026
    Former Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak used the Boko Haram threat to pilot an Israeli facial recognition scanning program in Nigeria, while Jeffrey Epstein facilitated oil and logistics deals.
  • Resumen Latinoamericano
    Ship Carrying Russian Fuel Heads to Cuba
    25 Feb 2026
    Cuba is facing severe energy shortages as US sanctions restrict fuel imports. The Russian shipment now heading to the island will help a nation struggling to maintain vital services for its citizens.
  • Horace Campbell
    Cuito Cuanavale and the Break from Western Capitalist and Racist Domination: Africa’s Debt to Cuba
    25 Feb 2026
    Campbell explains how Cuban military and medical interventions have been decisive in the liberation of African peoples from colonial domination.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us