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

The Town Crier’s Big Tooth Fund (For Drs. Rosenthal, Sapir and Ferdowsi)
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
23 Jun 2021
🖨️ Print Article
The Town Crier’s Big Tooth Fund (For Drs. Rosenthal, Sapir and Ferdowsi)
The Town Crier’s Big Tooth Fund (For Drs. Rosenthal, Sapir and Ferdowsi)

"From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs…” —Karl Marx

Reclined in my dentist’s chair, daydreaming in
Numbers: #s 13, 15, 18, 19— “5 on # 13; 7 on # 15;
5 on # 18; 7 on # 19—“ Problematic, impacted,
subtracted, divided—fractured, cracked numbers…
Unequal distal-lingual locations of class struggle;
where whirring drills and best shots stand down
Awaiting orders of statesmen long dead. I realize
glory days of my smile may be numbered, since
Sticker shock causes death under capitalism…

Reclined in my dentist’s chair, flashbacks from
warehouse worker-janitor-library worker life
whizz by… Surviving on years of poetry wages;
Years of “uninsured” low wealth; Years of popcorn 
cracks and fractures in dimly lit theaters. Years of 
cruisin’ Harlem’s Sugar Hill for what a friend’s 
Mom calls: “Coffee AND…” Coffee AND coffee cake;
Coffee AND cake; Coffee AND cookies, donuts—Coffee 
AND brownies from bodegas open 24/7 when breaking 
from Big Apple writing wars and crowned Cultural Worker

Reclined in my dentist’s chair, titanium thoughts 
sniping bullshit slogans like: “Build back better!”
Rewinding fierce firefights for universal health-
care for all: Like W and Schmuck Cheney before—
Boss Tweet and Schmo Biden after—
The Drone Ranger smothered it with
‘Surges,’ ‘signature strikes’ and boots on the ground

Reclined in my dentist’s chair, chuckling, thinking of
how I’d look—eyes bugged out—cowering, trembling 
in the corner, babbling: “Teeth don’t fail me now…”  
I remind myself, “It’s not personal, it’s business…” And
Relapse into a deep state of reasonableness, demanding the 
Impossible: Dental Care sleazy senators filibustering voting
rights receive…Dental Care corrupt congressmen with kick-
back-stuffed jackets get…Dental Care killer cops bending badges
Celebrating kills get…

© 2021. Raymond Nat Turner, The Town Crier. All Rights Reserved.

https://gofund.me/ef0f14a1

Raymond Nat Turner is an accomplished poet and performing artist, and an official of the National Writers Union. Find 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

Editors, The Black Agenda Review
POEM: Poem for Walter Rodney, Edward Kamau Brathwaite, 1981  
11 June 2025
“any where or world where there is love there is the sky and its blue free
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!”
Editors, The Black Agenda Review
POEM: Enemy of the Sun, Samih al-Qasim, 1970
29 May 2024
Read against the terrible incineration of Rafah today, this poem of resistance and refusal, by Pa
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
                                       
BAR Book Forum: Jon Jon Moore’s “The Calling: Poems”
Roberto Sirvent, BAR Book Forum Editor
BAR Book Forum: Jon Jon Moore’s “The Calling: Poems”
16 February 2022
In this series, we ask acclaimed authors to answer five questions about their book.
Our ‘democracy’
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
Our ‘democracy’
23 July 2021
Shangri-La—untaxed, socially-distanced champagne- caviar, Cayman Island, yacht crowds who

More Stories


  • China's Report on U.S. Cyber Attacks Only Scratches Surface of Washington's Impunity
    Danny Haiphong, BAR Contributing Editor
    China's Report on U.S. Cyber Attacks Only Scratches Surface of Washington's Impunity
    10 May 2023
    China has been the victim of US espionage and cyber attacks, despite claims that it is "stealing" US technology.
  •  BAR Book Forum: Allan E.S. Lumba’s Book, “Monetary Authorities”
    Roberto Sirvent, BAR Book Forum Editor
    BAR Book Forum: Allan E.S. Lumba’s Book, “Monetary Authorities”
    10 May 2023
    This week’s featured author is Allan E.S. Lumba.
  • Human Rights Watch and Inter-American Commission on Human Rights Confirm What Masses Have Condemned: Peruvian State Carried Out Extrajudicial Killings and Other Abuses
    Clau O'Brien Moscoso
    Human Rights Watch and Inter-American Commission on Human Rights Confirm What Masses Have Condemned: Peruvian State Carried Out Extrajudicial Killings and Other Abuses
    10 May 2023
    Human Rights Watch and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights confirm what was already clear to BAR's reporter and others on the ground in Peru. The coup government has…
  • Exclusive: How Haiti’s Assassination Plot Unraveled, Minute by Minute and Text by Text
    David Adams , Jake Johnston
    Exclusive: How Haiti’s Assassination Plot Unraveled, Minute by Minute and Text by Text
    10 May 2023
    Messages and texts from those suspected of the plot to assassinate Haitian president Jovenel Moise make for fascinating reading. One of them communicated with Ariel Henry, who was named Prime…
  • ‘Anti-Black’ Claim Raised About Cuba As Solidarity Activists Stopped at U.S. Border & Black Socialists Arraigned in United States for Collaborating with Russia
    Julie Varughese
    ‘Anti-Black’ Claim Raised About Cuba As Solidarity Activists Stopped at U.S. Border & Black Socialists Arraigned in United States for Collaborating with Russia
    10 May 2023
    Claims of anti-Black racism in revolutionary countries should be treated with great skepticism. This trope is used as a tool to target countries for regime change plots and other attacks. While in…
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us