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

Bad Hombres
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
25 Jul 2018
🖨️ Print Article
Bad Hombres
Central American has the highest murder rate on the planet, thanks to 2 centuries of US intervention.

Miguel was a precocious
six-year-old. And Maria,
his mother, swore the
Sun’s shine started in
his green eyes. ‘Ojos Verde,’
she lovingly called him.

Blessed with perfect pitch,
Miguel’s music aptitude
was off the charts! He could pick
Melodies out on the tiny, beat up
guitar, his Grandpa rescued from
Rich folks’ trash and put in Miguel’s
small hands the moment he walked.
And the sky was the limit—before
Bad Hombres with
Badges kidnapped him…

Floods of florescent light, 24/7
and arbitrary darkness behind
blacked out windows…remind
Miguel that his world is flipped
Upside down like a car skidding out of
Control somewhere in Oregon or New York.
He misses his Mommy; He rocks and chants
staccato licks, “Ma-ma, ma-ma, ma-ma…”

The sharp needle pierces his tender
Brown flesh. He screams, “Ma-ma, Ma-ma!”
Sunshine drains from emerald eyes into slo-
mo replays like red flags thrown through the
Rest of his life…

After 54 days Miguel’s reunited with his Mommy.
She searches scabies and lice for emerald sunshine,
Finding busted windows where a tortured soul and
Nightmares reside profitably: Childcare provided by
Bad Hombres—
drug dealers
and rapists…

© 2018. Raymond Nat Turner, The Town Crier. All Rights Reserved.

Raymond Nat Turner is an acclaimed poet and performing artist. Find much more of his work at http://upsurgejazz.com.

Central America

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


Related Stories

John Perry
UN “Experts” Fueling Washington’s Attacks on Nicaragua
01 April 2026
The UN panel’s reports on Nicaragua recycle claims from U.S.-backed opposition groups, serving as a propaganda arm for Washington’s regime chan
Gerald A. Perreira
Turning Its Back on Cuba: Government of Guyana Sells Its Soul
25 February 2026
Cuba has provided Guyana with doctors, scholarships, and healthcare for nearly five decades.

More Stories


  • Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
    Reclaiming our time back from February 30th Fighters
    03 Dec 2025
    "Reclaiming our time back from February 30th Fighters" is the latest from BAR's Poet-in-Residence.
  • Jon Jeter
    Everything Must Change: Roles Reversed as Western Imperialist’s Gory, Glory Days Come to an End
    03 Dec 2025
    Europe celebrated defeating fascism in 1945 but immediately resumed its colonial control of the Global South. Now, eighty years later, the West is bankrupt financially and morally and is discovering…
  • Accra
    Dhoruba bin-Wahad
    5th Pan-African Congress Commemoration 2025
    03 Dec 2025
    Delegates gathered in Accra, Ghana to commemorate the 1945 Pan-African Conference, affirm their commitment to fighting neo-colonialism, and to demand reparations for African people throughout the…
  • Black Alliance For Peace
    Don’t Believe The Simulated Coup d’État in Guinea-Bissau
    03 Dec 2025
    An illegitimate seizure of power is unfolding in Guinea-Bissau, but the "coup" involves the outgoing president, his loyalists, and their efforts to undo the will of the people in that nation.
  • Organization for the Victory of the People , Gerald A. Perreira
    Hands Off Maduro/Hands Off Venezuela
    03 Dec 2025
    CARICOM and Countries Across the Caribbean, Central and South America Must Defy Trump’s Ludicrous and Illegal No-Fly Zone.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us