For Breonna Taylor (And my Bry)

Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence

27 May 2020

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How I wish I could sing her name
like Brother Ray or ‘Ree—
‘Cause Breonna Taylor’s real close
to Bryana Turner to me

I wish I could sing her name
like Abbey, Nina, or Big Paul—
Celebrating the sunny
June home birth I recall…

I wish I could sing her name
like Mahalia or Clara Ward—
Feeling my hand again
cutting an umbilical cord

I wish I could sing her name
like Sarah or Natalie Cole—
But, the recorder reminds
me that that’s not my role…

I wish I could sing her name
like Lil’ Richard or Betty Wright—
Hearing Mingus’s ‘Haitian’ song
that urges me to “Fight!”

I wish I could sing her name
and other names, other towns—
Galvanizing Black Folks—and
fifty million John Browns…

BAR’s poet in residence Raymond Nat Turner is an accomplished performing artist. You can find much more of his work at http://upsurgejazz.com .

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