Vietnam in 1969. (Photograph: Netflix/Rex/Shutterstock)
A war is not a war…
“Truth is the first casualty of war”
—Phillip Snowden
Somewhere there’s bombing—
not where you are…
Somewhere there’s bombing—
maybe Kandahar?
Somewhere skies rain artillery shells nonstop. Night
and day—Day and night… Twisted, tortured rebar
bones of high-rises surrender as pulverized
prisoners…Windows,
doors and floors are crushed with concrete dust and
debris on rubble-strewn streets—Slippery with
blood, brain and guts— Near scorched, Swiss-cheese
cars…
Somewhere there’s shelling—
not where you are…
Somewhere there’s shelling—
maybe Côte d’Ivoire?
Somewhere haunting wailing and moaning punctuates
puzzles under shells of burnt-out buildings. Do empty
shoes and sandals—limbless torsos, decapitated bodies—
offer clues to where it is? Does viscosity of the blood in
form us? What about bloody blankets, the bent blue bike,
Books and papers?
Is it Palestine? Yemen? Ukraine? Is it Tripoli, Kabul or
Baghdad? Addis Ababa or Aleppo? Any tips from the
rhythms and inflections of cries? Do rattling wheels of
Refugee luggage offer a clue?
Somewhere there’s killing—
not where you are
Somewhere there’s killing—
maybe Myanmar?
Call it an operation—non-invasive outpatient procedure—
Call unscheduled surgeries medical mishaps. Leave amputees
and decapitated patients for loved ones to mourn and the mass
Gravediggers to bury…
Address Orwellian medicine men as Dr. Goebbels as they put
patients on low-calorie diets of unknown knowns and known
Unknowns…
Call pre-op scrubbing the airwaves of “Blowin’ In The Wind,”
“Peace Train,” “Imagine” infection control. Then declare:
“The Friendship Train’ ain’t runnin’—You’re either with us,
or you’re with the enemy—and truth will get you 15—instead
of setting you free…”
A war is not a war—
It’s a Special Military Operation. Land Mass Amputation.
It’s Manifest Destiny. It’s a Desert Shield; a Desert Storm
for Enduring Freedom during Q2 through
Q4. And it’s not personal—it’s Business…
Our Saturday marches plant tiny seeds—small
stubborn possibilities. May we learn to cast our
lots with lunch bucket crowds. Remember the
Essential ones? The ones who one day will say:
“Enough! We, too, are ILWU Local 10—We refuse
to lend magic of our hands to merchants of death! We
refuse to load and unload WMD!” And could that day
be the day body-armored workers join in; turning tools with triggers on grifter generals/blood-lusting
bosses?
© 2022. Raymond Nat Turner, The Town Crier. All Rights Reserved.
Former forklift driver/warehouse worker/janitor, Raymond Nat Turner is a NYC poet;
BAR's Poet-in-Residence; and founder/co-leader of the jazz-poetry ensemble UpSurge!NYC.
You can Vote for his work at: GoFundMe: https://www.gofundme.com/f/the-town-criers-big-tooth-fund PayPal: paypal.me/towncrierRNT
Our guest is Melanie Dominguez, Organizing Director, New York with the Katal Center for Equity, Health, and Justice. She joins us from New York City to discuss the federal takeover of Rikers Island…
The late Charles Rangel served as a member of the Congressional Black Caucus for more than 40 years. But the goals of Black politics and electoral politics are not necessarily the same.
“In theory and in practice, then, Zionism is a degraded repetition of European imperialism.”
Eritrea remains true to the revolutionary ideals forged during its 30-year War of Independence.
By vetoing a bill to study reparations, Maryland Governor Wes Moore has aligned himself with a long line of Black Democrats who prioritize white approval over their own base.
