Ralph Poynter speaking at a rally for political prisoner Mumia Abu-Jamal.
When I Grow Up…
When I grow up I
wanna be bear hugs
and hundred watt smiles
for family, comrades and friends—
Easy to figure
out: Come correct—
Or, not at all
When I grow up I
wanna be like the
Keystone State son of
a steel worker,
in major—music theory—
Teaching poly-rhythmic
Resistance and asking:
“How do you keep the music playing,
How do you make it last???”
When I grow up I
wanna be like the
Quaker State son of
a steel worker,
in major—allowing
Resistance and the
Organizer in
his DNA to
Lead the way, saying
Names of Political
Prisoners, Prisoners of War…
When I grow up I
wanna be like the
Warrior jousting
windmills in front of the
War House. Picketing
for the Love of his
Life—rain, sleet, snow—
Or sauna. Showing,
Not telling, the rulers,
“Let my Peoples’ Lawyer go!”
Ain’t that lovin’ you, baby?
When I grow up I
wanna be like the cat
not above crashing
in airports, to
Visit his Valentine
shackled to the 17th century—
Deep in the heart of
a Texas torture chamber
When I grow up I
wanna be a spirit
singing,“Lonely teardrops,
My pillow’s never dry…
Lonely teardrops, come
Ho-oh-oh-oh-Om…”
When I grow up I
wanna be like the knight
in whose eyes glint
Her name writ red in flames…
Poet’s note: Inspired by the life of Ralph Poynter …
© 2017. Raymond Nat Turner, The Town Crier. All Rights Reserved.
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: GoFundMeand PayPal.
Barbados Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley provided an impassioned call for global action on climate change. But what does it mean to beg for your life from the white neocolonial powers who have…
In October 2021 Black Agenda Report published my interview
In this series, we ask acclaimed authors to answer five questions about their book. This week’s featured author is Kyle T. Mays.
A judge has ruled in favor of the community fighting to prevent a real estate developer from destroying an African American cemetery in Bethesda, Maryland.
