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R-E-S-P-E-C-T… (Ree-Ree-Ree-Respect!)
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
24 Aug 2018
🖨️ Print Article
aretha
Aretha Franklin, 1942-2018

“If Ever I Would Leave You–”

Her promise, implied, to never

Leave this jagged hole in my

Soul was just shredded—

Gooseflesh from her growls,

swoops, screams, leaps is

Left; but her voice belongs to the

Universe for other planets to marvel at

I don’t wanna “Say

Her Name” today, not now…

Don’t wanna hear headlines—

See scribblers, talking heads who‘

Feel your pain,’ yet tear flesh from

Black bones most weekdays

It’s not business, it’s personal—

Like losing some soundtrack

When Bro. Ray checked out—or

My two week depression when

Sass stepped off stage; But,

If, There’s A Place For us

Outside plantations,

beyond bullwhips’ call

and response

If, There’s A Place For us

above gun towers

and concertina wire, our

Ma Raineys, Bessie Smiths,

Lady Days, Ninas and

Arethas

Take us there…

So, I tip my cap and

Sing praise not to

Monarchy propped

up on a throne—on

dried blood, skulls and bone;

a rusty “Chain of Fools…”

I tip my cap and

Sing praise—Panther-style—

to my Minister of Medicine,

Servant of The People,

darling “Dr. Feelgood—”

practicing Universal Healthcare

from a Spiritual Free Clinic

In her throat

I tip my cap and

Sing praise—Grammys,

medals, honorary degrees,

halls of fame, streets bearing the

name "Aretha Franklin Way”

speak for themselves.

I tip my cap and

Sing praise—a medley—and

“Think” of telling teams

“Don’t Play That Song…”

Of being a

“Bridge Over Troubled

Water” in Flint—

Making water weaponizers

“Jump To It,” getting the lead out;

Of telling ICE kidnappers—

“Ain’t No Way…”

© 2018. Raymond Nat Turner, The Town Crier. All Rights Reserved.

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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