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

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
Photo: Kevin W. Thorbourne
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
Bird, strings, Big Chief: 100: Harlem (For Charlie Parker/Donald Harrison/Harlem Symphony Orchestra)
08 September 2021
Bird, strings, Big Chief: 100: Harlem (For Charlie Parker/Donald Harrison/Harlem Symphony Orchestra)  

More Stories


  • Vote uncommitted sign
    Dr.Wilmer J. Leon, III
    It’s Not Voter Apathy; You’re Not Listening
    27 Mar 2024
    Politicians and the liberal media cite "voter apathy" as the cause of reduced voter turnout, but the reality is that their devotion to corporate interests over those of the people creates a seeming…
  • Shasta people
    Zach Frye
    No Green For Go: How Settler-Colonialism Kills More Than Just People
    27 Mar 2024
    Settler colonialism has caused the destruction of indigenous lands around the world and, as a result, the environment in which we all live. The path forward is an global struggle against these forces.
  • Black people at a Panthers protest
    Mark P. Fancher
    Black, Angry and Proud of It
    27 Mar 2024
    For Africans in the U.S., anger is an important first step in mentally emancipating themselves from empire and declaring war on it.
  • Ethiopian migrants
    Black Alliance For Peace
    From the Rivers to the Seas of the world, the Peoples’ of this Planet Must be Liberated from U.S. and European Domination If We Are to Survive
    27 Mar 2024
    The peoples of this world will never see true liberation and peace until we are free of the shackles of U.S. and Western colonial domination.
  • prison hallway
    Ben Conarck , Pamela Wood
    Baltimore’s new $1 billion jail will be most expensive state-funded project in history
    27 Mar 2024
    The proposed 854-bed facility will be a hybrid jail, hospital and mental health and substance use treatment facility for people facing criminal charges.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us