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

1st 100 Days— Portland  
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
16 Sep 2020
🖨️ Print Article
1st 100 Days— Portland 
1st 100 Days— Portland 

I have a friend—some-
time bandmate—Daily…
Whining, wringing his hands.
Distressed and depressed—
anxious and agitated—he
Knows nuclear war and
Armageddon are on the
agenda if Boss Tweet’s
Back—big lies, gas-lighting
another four years…

My meditation 
and its compassion
keep me from screaming,
“Come on out of that
cannabis cloud, read 
writing on other walls—
smell some sub rosa
burgeoning of black

lives—smell the Resistance!”

Instead, I celebrate long stem red roses stretching
Seattle, City of Angels, Tha Town, Minneapolis,
Kenosha, Atlanta, Louisville, Baltimore, Ferguson—
Chicago-Red State teachers’ strikes to The City of Roses!

Instead, I celebrate The City of Roses—
Red roses metastasizing in teargas;
Red roses blooming beneath baton blows—
springing up on Solidarity Street, opening
behind Walls of Moms
Red roses kidnapped in camouflaged fertilizer—
blooming behind walls of ICE; flowering in fascism:
foul compost of a wilting, shriveling empire…
Red roses exploding in FOX-box foot-soldiers’ faces—
silencing lying lawyers;
Red roses burgeoning in blood of John Browns:
Red roses entangled in blue-violent pigmented
thorns—blue symbolizing mystery: How thorns
are being Overcome…

© 2020. Raymond Nat Turner, The Town Crier. All Rights Reserved.

BAR’s poet in residence Raymond Nat Turner is an accomplished performing artist. You can find much more of his work at http://upsurgejazz.com  .

COMMENTS?

Please join the conversation on Black Agenda Report's Facebook page at http://facebook.com/blackagendareport

Or, you can comment by emailing us at comments@blackagendareport.com

poetry

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


Related Stories

Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
Army of Artists (For My Friend Horace Silver)
17 December 2025
Harmony of a hug,Rhythm of a rose,Melody in the mirror
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
A few lines for the Poet Ojenke...
21 May 2025
RIP: Rise In Poetics to Ra
Editors, The Black Agenda Review
POEM: Reflections after the June 12th March of Disarmament, Sonia Sanchez, 1982
18 December 2024
“I have come to you tonite not just for the stoppage
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
Love My Black Job
11 September 2024
Love my Black Job— Black Student Union Job! Hired at L.A. City College As “The Peoples Poet!”
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
MrJoeSam’s Text Messages
12 June 2024
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR’s poet-in-residence, pays homage to San Francisco’s shipyard artist JoeSam who died peacefully on June 1, 2024, surroun
Raymond Nat Turner
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
Dis-honest Broker
01 May 2024
"Dis-honest Broker" is the latest from BAR's Poet-in-Residence, recently performed at UpSurge!
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
Raymond Nat Turner at the UpSurge Jazz Celebration
03 April 2024
 
Image of Refaat Alareer sitting in a crowd of graduates
Editors, The Black Agenda Review
POEM: If I Must Die, Refaat Alareer, 2023
13 December 2023
Palestinian poet Refaat Alareer, a martyr of zionist state genocidal violence, has left us with a tale of resistance and hope.
Protest for Palestine at the White House
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
Trigger Warning
22 November 2023
Trigger Warning Palestine’s the Answer— What was the Question?
Another June 1
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
Another June 1
07 June 2023
                                       

More Stories


  • Black Agenda Radio
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Black Agenda Radio May 24, 2024
    24 May 2024
    This week, we discuss the International Criminal Court's decision to pursue arrest warrants for Israeli government leadership and the 2024 U.S. presidential election. But first, we hear from a…
  • Austin Cole
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Repression of Palestine Solidarity at Massachusetts Institute of Technology - Part 2
    24 May 2024
    In part two of our interview, Austin Cole joins us to discuss his suspension from MIT due to his participation in the Gaza Solidarity Encampment and his own experience with the attack directed by the…
  • ICC prosecutor
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    International Criminal Court Action Falls Short in Addressing Israeli War Crimes
    24 May 2024
    Ajamu Baraka joins us to discuss the International Criminal Court, the ICC, and the announcement by Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan that he is applying for arrest warrants for both Israeli and…
  • President Joe Biden's approval ratings
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
    Biden Struggles in the 2024 Presidential Election
    24 May 2024
    Margaret Kimberley recently joined Sputnik News program, Fault Lines, and discussed why incumbent president Joe Biden is struggling to make the case for a second term.
  • Margaret Kimberley, BAR Executive Editor and Senior Columnist
    Western Arms Supplies to Ukraine Prevent Peaceful Solutions
    22 May 2024
    Margaret Kimberley, Executive Editor of Black Agenda Report, was invited to brief the United Nations Security Council on May 20, 2024, as a civil society representative. The subject of the meeting…
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us