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.
The U.S. effort to control the narrative at the Summit of the Americas ended as a diplomatic and foreign policy disaster. The imperative to dominate blew up in the collective faces of the Biden…
Juneteenth was a people's holiday with deep meaning for the descendants of enslaved people. But the declaration of an official federal holiday has turned it into an opportunity for corporate…
Hubert Henry Harrison was one of the foremost Black socialist and nationalist thinkers of the early 20th century. He was known as "the father of Harlem radicalism." This is the second of of a…
José Martí’s account of the 1889 Pan-American Congress offers lessons for last week’s failed Summit of the Americas.
The emerging multipolar world is the result of struggles for national sovereignty and self-determination, which are connected with the world wide class struggle.
