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

For Fancy Miss Nancy
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
19 Dec 2018
🖨️ Print Article
Nancy Sue Wilson 1937-2018
Nancy Sue Wilson 1937-2018

Guess who I saw
today, black and white photo,
Marching, Montgomery from
Selma, ‘65?

Guess who I saw
at my high school swingin’ the
Trio; urging us to stay in school?

Guess who I,
was privileged to sequence
a later CD for, late one night?

…and you don’t know, you don’t know how
Glad I am that she
put the purr in whisper, with a sultry
Sound that could make subpoenas seem sensuous

…and you don’t know, you don’t know how
Glad I am that she
Appeared, sparkling, at the end of the
golden era—looking as good as she sounded—
Her face should grace
Buckeye State flags emblazoned
“There will never be another you…”

…and you don’t know, you don’t know how
Glad I am that she
Hovered earth— stunning hummingbird,
gorgeous humanitarian, giving the greatest
performance of her life, moments I loitered—
not seizing the time and asking, “When did
You leave heaven?”
Though, I think it was maybe ’37? I know she’s

Free Again…

© 2018. Raymond Nat Turner, The Town Crier. All Rights Reserved.

Raymond Nat Turner is an acclaimed poet and performing artist. You can find much more of his work at http://upsurgejazz.com.

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


More Stories


  • Black Caucus Fails on Ukraine
    Margaret Kimberley, BAR Executive Editor and Senior Columnist
    Black Caucus Fails on Ukraine
    15 Mar 2022
    The members of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) follow Biden's Ukraine policy in lock step. In doing so they fail their constituents and discredit the legacy of Black politic
  • WORKING PAPER: The Afro-Asian Solidarity Movement: The Threat of A Communist-Nationalist Alliance Against the West, 1958
    Editors, The Black Agenda Review
    WORKING PAPER: The Afro-Asian Solidarity Movement: The Threat of A Communist-Nationalist Alliance Against the West, 1958
    15 Mar 2022
    Declassified papers from NATO’s archives detail a comprehensive counter-revolutionary strategy against decolonization, including the active sabotaging of Afro-Asian solidarity and the “spirit of…
  • Nuclear white-male…
    Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
    Nuclear white-male…
    15 Mar 2022
                                                           …
  • Soy Porque Somos (I Am Because We Are): a Black-women-led and Life-Based Project for a New Colombia
    Jaime Alves
    Soy Porque Somos (I Am Because We Are): a Black-women-led and Life-Based Project for a New Colombia
    15 Mar 2022
    This article was written before the March 13 primaries when Francia Marquez received more than 780,000 votes. She received more votes than any Black politician in Colombian history. Would her…
  • In Solidarity with Haitian Workers and Migrants
    Black Alliance For Peace
    In Solidarity with Haitian Workers and Migrants
    15 Mar 2022
    Haitians will leave their country by any and all means as long as they live under US backed oligarchic rule. Poverty wages which ignited garment worker strikes explain the urge to seek asylum. Black…
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us