front row at Aretha's funeral
Star-struck, in childlike
awe of celestial
Voices, silver tongues;
I spent seven hours
glued to the screen—
back in the Baptist Church,
Celebrating, honoring the
humanitarian, North Star
Shero—genius in her field!
What a day, imbibing
Mighty Black Music!
Joyful noise, Lake Michigan-
sized magnet, gathering forces
elbow to elbow—
Enemies, Orange Age
Allies on the clock…
Basking in reflected light,
Assassins, informants, jailers,
Mouthpieces, mass murderers,
super predators, slutty professors
came riding, riding, riding, riding
bare-back, backwards on a
Donkey to The D.
Riding in corporate coats
of many logos—then
Limboing their way
Center stage, tracking
donkey dung down the
red carpet; playing
our emotions, our
Souls, our strength—
our Achilles’ heel
like plastic kazoos:
resurrecting the
Democratic Party…
© 2018. Raymond Nat Turner, The Town Crier. All Rights Reserved.
Our poet in residence, Raymond Nat Turner is an acclaimed performing artist. Find much more of his work at http://upsurgejazz.com.
The state is not drifting toward repression; it is building it with serious intent. ICE raids, militarized police, and mass surveillance are the tools of a system designed to manage and silence…
“From journalists…the greatest need of the moment is sound analysis of the U.S. empire and the focusing of the news spotlight on its far-flung sinister operations.”
"Operation Piracy or Pedophile Protection, mates?" is the latest from BAR's Poet-in-Residence.
Jake Paul’s ascent in boxing is a cultural symptom of an empire in decline. It reflects a country that now prefers empty spectacle over real strength, both in sports and on the world stage.
To dismiss revolutionary theory is to choose permanent defeat, reducing the movement to a hamster wheel of reaction and co-opted rage.
