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
“We salute all peoples who are fighting/We honor all those who have died/For the cause of freedom.”
This lecture was delivered on February 3, 2026, at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver (Canada) for the monthly series “Black History and the Project of Black Studies.”
Dan Kovalik and Jeremy Kuzmarov’s Syria: Anatomy of Regime Change was published on September 1, 2025. What can it teach us now that the empire has pulled the trigger on three more nations…
"Everything they touch turns to rubble" is the latest from BAR's Poet-in-Residence.
Tennessee's claim of being "tough on crime" means racialized policing and incarceration, and profit making off of marginalized people.
