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


  • Memphis City Council meeting
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Memphis Communities Fight Elon Musk's Data Center
    30 Oct 2026
    KeShaun Pearson of Memphis Community Against Pollution discusses the struggles against Elon Musk's data center and Memphis' compromised elected officials.
  • BAR Radio
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Black Agenda Report October 30, 2026
    30 Oct 2026
    In this week’s segment, we discuss Brazil's presidential election, where the incumbent president secured victory after losing in the first round of voting. But we begin with a conversation about an…
  • Brazil
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    How Lula Won in Brazil
    30 Oct 2026
    Robert Wilson analyzes Lula da Silva's comeback from defeat in the first round of voting in Brazil's presidential election.
  • Margaret and Sabby
    Margaret Kimberley, BAR Executive Editor and Senior Columnist , Sabby Sabs
    Trump ABANDONS Gulf States! Iran Base HIT!
    28 Oct 2026
    BAR Executive Editor Margaret Kimberley joined Sabby Sabs to analyze recent developments in West Asia.
  • Margaret Kimberley, BAR Executive Editor and Senior Columnist
    Twenty Years of Black Agenda Report
    28 Oct 2026
    Reaching a 20th anniversary for Black Agenda Report is indeed a milestone. But longevity alone is not what makes this publication special to thousands of readers. BAR’s principled journalistic…
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us