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.
Covid-19 has laid bare a fundamental truth: that capitalist healthcare is a contradiction in terms, since capital – like the killer virus -- cares for nothing but reproducing itself.
The Trump administration wants a hot war with Iran or Venezuela, or both, and those of us claiming to be anti-war must be on our guard and ready for action.
The “liberal” champion is a corporate thug who pays prisoners slave wages to make hand sanitizer and is trying to cut Medicaid.
Deaths caused by the pandemic are likely to occur without assistance of any kind, without any administrative record, and without acknowledgment in the news cycle.
STOP! No testing! No testing for the infection— big, big numbers could threaten the $election! STOP! No testing for us poor, us working-class—
