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

Poem For Zigi
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
05 Jul 2017
🖨️ Print Article

by BAR poet in residence Raymond Nat Turner

This week's offering from BAR's poet in residence was also published this week at Dissident Voice.

 

Poem For Zigi

by BAR poet in residence Raymond Nat Turner

“…the greatest thing you’ll ever learn
Is just to love and be loved in return…”
‘Nature Boy’ by Eden Ahbez

Jet black gondola
2017-07-05 11:54:34 -0400glides across the resting lake
to Bata drumming dock,
African ritual;
Double rainbow of
Family and friends,
Connect like braided bread,
Waiting to share coconut,
white chocolate, lemon zest treat—
Our seven hour chat
“covering everything
from Ellington to
Engels…” earned Us…

Steamed tears stream on
Bent notes of
“The Nearness of You”
Blue glass explodes beneath
my white shoe;
Rich in Bandmates,

“…the greatest thing you’ll ever learn
Is just to love and be loved in return…”
‘Nature Boy’ by Eden Ahbez

Jet black gondola
glides across the resting lake
to Bata drumming dock,
African ritual;
Double rainbow of
Family and friends,
Connect like braided bread,
Waiting to share coconut,
white chocolate, lemon zest treat—
Our seven hour chat
“covering everything
from Ellington to
Engels…” earned Us…

Steamed tears stream on
Bent notes of
“The Nearness of You”
Blue glass explodes beneath
my white shoe;
Rich in Bandmates,
Best Man Son, Daughter,
Sistars; Ancestors bear
bouquets emblazoned,
“Mazel Tov!”
and crowd gold chuppah—
more beautiful than perfect

Reaching into Van Gogh
skies—plucking the
left-handed, curly-topped
Angel I’d asked for,
For a trek across
the heavens; After
decades daydreaming,
decades longing
for my Soulmate—a
Brother caught a break—
Flourishing in her
Galaxy of Love

’Twas Fathers Day too—
Papi growled, per usual,
“Take care of each other…”
Champagne whispering—
“Don’t fuck it up,”
Shooing us off to Tour Eiffel…

Best Man Son, Daughter,
Sistars; Ancestors bear
bouquets emblazoned,
“Mazel Tov!”
and crowd gold chuppah—
more beautiful than perfect

Reaching into Van Gogh
skies—plucking the
left-handed, curly-topped
Angel I’d asked for,
For a trek across
the heavens; After
decades daydreaming,
decades longing
for my Soulmate—a
Brother caught a break—
Flourishing in her
Galaxy of Love

’Twas Fathers Day too—
Papi growled, per usual,
“Take care of each other…”
Champagne whispering—
“Don’t fuck it up,”
Shooing us off to Tour Eiffel…

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


More Stories


  • Is Biden Committing Diplomatic Suicide Over the Iran Nuclear Agreement?
    Medea Benjamin and Nicolas J. S. Davies
    Is Biden Committing Diplomatic Suicide Over the Iran Nuclear Agreement?
    17 Feb 2021
    Biden is taking the position that the US will not rejoin the agreement or drop its unilateral sanctions until Iran first comes back into compliance.
  • Urgent Solidarity With Haiti Is Needed
    Margaret Flowers
    Urgent Solidarity With Haiti Is Needed
    17 Feb 2021
    “President” Jovenel Moïse has dismantled the democratic institutions of the state and rules unilaterally with the support of the police, military and western allies.
  • For Biden Administration, Black Lives Don’t Matter in Haiti!—A BAP Statement on Haiti
    Black Alliance For Peace
    For Biden Administration, Black Lives Don’t Matter in Haiti!—A BAP Statement on Haiti
    17 Feb 2021
    The new US administration has already shown its support for paramilitary terror and political suppression in Haiti.
  • Black Liberation in Context: Political Prisoner Speaks on Torture at 2005 Human Rights Conference
    Sundiata Acoli
    Black Liberation in Context: Political Prisoner Speaks on Torture at 2005 Human Rights Conference
    17 Feb 2021
    Black Panther Party and Black Liberation Army political/prisoner of war Sundiata Acoli told human rights activists “torture is nothing new” in U.S.
  • Medical Racism Has Shaped U.S. Policies for Centuries
    Deirdre Cooper Owens
    Medical Racism Has Shaped U.S. Policies for Centuries
    17 Feb 2021
    A Black medical truth-teller traces the link between a 1793 yellow fever epidemic and today’s coronavirus racial disparities.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us