front row at Aretha's funeral
Star-struck, in childlike
awe of celestial
Voices, silver tongues;
I spent seven hours
glued to the screen—
back in the Baptist Church,
Celebrating, honoring the
humanitarian, North Star
Shero—genius in her field!
What a day, imbibing
Mighty Black Music!
Joyful noise, Lake Michigan-
sized magnet, gathering forces
elbow to elbow—
Enemies, Orange Age
Allies on the clock…
Basking in reflected light,
Assassins, informants, jailers,
Mouthpieces, mass murderers,
super predators, slutty professors
came riding, riding, riding, riding
bare-back, backwards on a
Donkey to The D.
Riding in corporate coats
of many logos—then
Limboing their way
Center stage, tracking
donkey dung down the
red carpet; playing
our emotions, our
Souls, our strength—
our Achilles’ heel
like plastic kazoos:
resurrecting the
Democratic Party…
© 2018. Raymond Nat Turner, The Town Crier. All Rights Reserved.
Our poet in residence, Raymond Nat Turner is an acclaimed performing artist. Find much more of his work at http://upsurgejazz.com.
The U.S. isn't the only country where police shootings of Black people are common. Chris Kaba is the latest victim of what UK police call a "hard stop."
Industrial palm oil production in West and Central Africa is mainly controlled by five multinational corporations and could continue expansion. Plantations take up large tracts of land. Land and…
The death of the queen is a reminder of the debt that Britain owes to Caribbean nations. Reparations are owed for slavery.
The U.S. has interfered in the affairs of other nations since 1798 with more than 250 military interventions in the last 30 years alone.
Black politics in San Francisco Part 2, FBI surveillance of Aretha Franklin, and how the U.S. drives conflicts in Horn of Africa nations.
