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

SONNY
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
27 May 2026
🖨️ Print Article
Sonny Rollins
Poem by Raymond Nat Turner

Our wise Monk-guru, 
White winter mane and 
Douglass beard,
Sonny's an
Oak tree growing out
Sugar Hill concrete—
Colossus reaching, 
Stretching out into 
Open Van Gogh sky...
Stairway To The Stars 
Sage alchemist, blowing 
Brass tears from his tone
Into sweet sunbeams,
Reflecting Freedom Suite
Swagger, greeting Tubman years

His winter's more
Vital to peace people—
Humble, calloused, sweaty tribes—

Than great spring and summer
Bean stalking, Bird watching 
Gruff stuff, monkey bar cage,
Mirror, Brownie Points 
Bridge to Ashram karma
Yoga arc sterling character puzzle...

My 70s Sonny story:
One Hollywood night, 
Harold Vick and Sonny 
Locked up like Ali and
Frazier in Shelly's Manhole— 
"Thrilla in Manila,"
Jazz giants grappling
Like elephants
Rumbling in the jungle,
Tenor trunks roaring
Chorus after chorus after chorus...
Then, Miles-to-Trane-like... the 
Winner... Sonny, took 
The horn out his mouth:
"I don't have any more"
To shouts "More!" "More!"
Oak tree growing out
Sugar Hill concrete— 
Colossus reaching, 
Stretching out into 
Open Van Gogh sky—

Forty years later...

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 and PayPal.

Jazz
Music
Art
Memorial
Sonny Rollins

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


Related Stories

Ann Garrison, BAR Contributing Editor
Johanna Fernández and her Unrelenting Advocacy for Mumia Abu Jamal
19 August 2026
The late Dr.
Editors, The Black Agenda Review
LYRICS: Bicentennial Blues, Gil Scott-Heron, 1976
01 July 2026
“George Washington/Slave-owner general/Ironic that the father of this country/
Editors, The Black Agenda Review
ESSAY: In Our Hands: Thoughts on Black Music, Bernice Johnson Reagon, 1976
31 July 2024
For the late Dr.
Joan Gibbs
Matt Tracy
Joan Gibbs, Renowned Lesbian Activist and Attorney, Dies at 71
10 April 2024
Joan Gibbs, long time civil rights attorney and activist, is remembered for her deep commitment to her community and for so
Ralph Poynter
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
For Ralph
20 March 2024
"They have got to pick up the work ..." 
Lorraine Hansberry
Editors, The Black Agenda Review
SPEECH: A Challenge to Artists, Lorraine Hansberry, 1962
21 February 2024
At a rally against the House Un-American Activities Committee, insurgent playwright Lorrainne Hansberry called on artists to shake off the fear
JoeSam art
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
MrJoeSam’s Text Messages
24 January 2024
MrJoeSam’s Text Messages
Avotcja’s Love…
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
Avotcja’s Love…
22 March 2023
                                         
For Larry Roland
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
For Larry Roland
08 March 2023
                                         
A lil’ homegoing homage to Brother Donald…
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
A lil’ homegoing homage to Brother Donald…
27 April 2022
Donald Smith always performe

More Stories


  • In the People’s War against COVID-19, Socialism Offers Victory while Capitalism Spells Defeat
    Danny Haiphong, BAR Contributing Editor
    In the People’s War against COVID-19, Socialism Offers Victory while Capitalism Spells Defeat
    06 May 2020
    Socialist societies are capable of doing much more to contain diseases like Covid-19, such as rapid testing, neighborhood food deliveries, and the use of AI technology to trace contacts and symptom
  • United States of Distraction: A Book Review
    Ann Garrison, BAR Contributing Editor
    United States of Distraction: A Book Review
    06 May 2020
    The authors recount and document the descent into “post-truth” partisan journalism from the alt-right to the right, liberal, and even independent left media, between 2016 and now.
  • Mayday 2020
    Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
    Mayday 2020
    06 May 2020
    (For Ferguson, Baltimore, Million Workers March,  Arab Spring, Standing Rock, Occupy, Jackson Rising,  Fight for Fifteen, Extinction Rebellion, #Me Too…)
  • Coronavirus and the Politics of Disposability
    Shaun Ossei-Owusu
    Coronavirus and the Politics of Disposability
    06 May 2020
    When the dust settles, as in all U.S. disasters, there will be a tale to tell of who mattered and who was sacrificed.
  • The Makings of A Capitalist Dystopia
    Erica Caines
    The Makings of A Capitalist Dystopia
    06 May 2020
    Colonized people, with a horrific historical connection to both science and medicine in this country, must examine science in service of the state.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us