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

Salute To Shift Holders! (Down With Boss Tweet!)
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
25 Jan 2018
🖨️ Print Article
Salute To Shift Holders!  (Down With Boss Tweet!)

He’s, obviously, not a New Yorker,
riding trains 4 and 5 in the morning.
Trains packed with hoodie-crowned;
shuttered chocolate, mocha, peanut
butter, caramel, coffee-colored faces—
Lunch bucket UN—palpable power,
Grabbing their last Zs, before Shifts
Holding levers, running the city.

He, obviously, gets no coffee,
street snacks, scarves, gloves,
posters, CDs, DVDs, caps, T-shirts
from carts and stands tourists treasure;
Carts and stands powered by African, Asian,
Latin American, Caribbean, Middle Eastern labor…

Lord knows he’s never been
to bodegas named Ameer's,
or Branson’s juice bar,
or the Texas Star,
Tarboosh, Nanoosh,
Cafe One, Clove, Dig Inn,
or Peace Food—where
Workers from plundered countries
Toil—countries Boss Tweet dissed!
Eateries where workers break bread,
rub shoulders, swap stories: U.S. bases,
Blood-soaked “boots on the ground,” Coups,
Death squads, decomposing bodies, bullets,
Bombs, missiles chasing families from
smoldering homelands…“in harm’s way”

Tweet’s just a paper towel-tossing,
beetle-brained, feces-faced
Clown, giving cover to 1%
Pickpockets working the crowd—
Look for him in the sewer…
Days when all trains empty at
City Hall and Wall Street…

Raymond Nat Turner © 2018 All Rights Reserved

Our poet in residence, Raymond Nat Turner is an acclaimed poet and performing artist. You can find much 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


  • I AM FOR THE RIGHT TO BE FREE!!!!
    Shaka Shakur
    I AM FOR THE RIGHT TO BE FREE!!!!
    05 Apr 2023
    Shaka Shakur is a revolutionary New Afrikan prisoner who has spent the past two decades incarcerated by the Indiana Department of Corrections on trumped up charges. He has consistently been targeted…
  • The Need for Independent Left Leadership
    Sudip Bhattacharya
    The Need for Independent Left Leadership
    05 Apr 2023
    Leftists in the U.S. must forge independent formations. Electoral politics are still a dead end.
  • Judge Clemons Denies a New Trial for Mumia Abu Jamal
    Noelle Hanrahan
    Judge Clemons Denies a New Trial for Mumia Abu Jamal
    05 Apr 2023
    A judge denied political prisoner Mumia Abu Jamal a new trial, and in so doing denies prosecutorial misconduct, suborning of perjury, and other wrongdoing committed against him. 
  • Communism, Islam, & Serving Our Neighbors
    D. Musa Springer
    Communism, Islam, & Serving Our Neighbors
    05 Apr 2023
    There are connections between spiritual and political beliefs. The writer advises, "...consider the synergy between the principles of our faith and the revolutionary spirit of communism."
  • TikTok on Trial: The Latest Front in the U.S. Tech War on China
    Amanda Yee
    TikTok on Trial: The Latest Front in the U.S. Tech War on China
    05 Apr 2023
    The U.S. engages in a futile effort to diminish China's economic prowess. The propaganda war against Tik Tok is the latest salvo, and concerns about data privacy are misdirection intended to help U.S…
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us