by BAR poet in residence Raymond Nat Turner
Whatchu do on election day might be important, our poet affirms, but it's by no means everything. Changing the world calls for a lot more stuff before, during, after and often enough in spite of elections, candidates and campaigns.
Feet Won’t Fail You Now:
Vote With Them!
by BAR poet in residence Raymond Nat Turner
I.
Presto! Abra-cadaver! Regime change!
And the wars played on…There’s a Ta-
Da List: Libya, Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran, Syria…
It’s more honest, less pretentious
having Haliburton and Boeing on
Ballots and Raytheon, Exxon and
General Dynamics nominating
Northrup-Grummond; Lockheed-Martin,
Monsanto and CCA chairing conventions…
It’s more honest, less pretentious
showing JFK, gaping hole in his
throat, brain oozing out the back
of his head; and Jackie’s blood-
splattered pink dress with all the
Pomp and circumstance…
It’s more honest, less pretentious
calling it corporatocracy, kleptocracy,
autocracy, plutocracy—anything but
Democracy—for the working-class
It’s more honest, less pretentious
To quit pretending it’s broken and
we can fix it. It’s emergency managed
magnificently, works perfectly—for the 1%
It’s more honest, less pretentious
shutting up about holding anyone’s
Combat boots to the fire!
You claim there’s an opening for socialism
In this anti-communist bastion of the world,
and your phones are smart…Is there an app
for socialism? Communism? If not, the real
Question in this forest of question marks is:
How quickly can we cram for the EXAM?
How rapidly can we build on baby steps?
How fast can we cut plastic cuffs from our
Dreams and snatch stars through orange netting?
How swiftly can we recycle shackles into Independent
Organizations? How quickly can we come together?
How fast can we cast illusions off and light lanterns
of theory guiding our steps?
How swiftly can we blend rivulets of revolt into a river of
Revolution?
Must we continue cowering before bloodthirsty Barnum&
Bailey, champagne-caviar spectacles, cycles of fear, before
Bogeymen, Bogey-Ladies and colored tokens granted rights
to do wrong: pulling nuts of The New Amerikkkkan Century
from class struggle’s campfire?
2008-2016
Black dyed-in-the wool corporate war criminal
2016-2024
Woman warmonger, Wall Street operative
2024—2032
“Latino” warlord, creature of the 1%
2032-2040
Asian exponent of the ‘pivot’
2040-2048
First Openly Gay Commander-in-Chief
2048-2056
First Disabled agent of war profiteers—then
Restart cycles, doubling up on identities…
II.
Your feet burn, legs ache, but ever
Notice how energized, invigorated,
Uplifted, militant marches make you?
Breathing’s not shallow—defeated like
aftermath of $campaigns & $elections
You’re revitalized as rubber and road meet
at your feet; street heat voting won’t fail you…
Raymond Nat Turner © 2016 All Rights Reserved
Raymond Nat Turner is an acclaimed poet and performance artist. Find more of his work at http://ursurgejazz.com
The Chadian troops arriving in Haiti are the visible arm of imperialist intervention in which the United States projects force without putting its own boots on the ground.
Two weeks before, the armed forces had fought off the highly coordinated attacks on six cities by about 12,000 jihadist and separatist fighters on April 25.
The Ruto regime claims a Pan-African mandate when it sends police to Haiti, but it attacks and arrests Pan-African delegates when they gather in Nairobi.
Communiqué issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Cuba — Havana, May 7, 2026
In this week’s segment, we discuss a military attack carried out by Western-backed insurgents against the African nation Mali and the imperialist attempt to destabilize the Alliance of Sahel States.…
