Black Agenda Report
Black Agenda Report
News, commentary and analysis from the black left.

  • Home
  • Africa
  • African America
  • Education
  • Environment
  • International
  • Media and Culture
  • Political Economy
  • Radio
  • US Politics
  • War and Empire

Buzzed In By Lewis
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
01 Feb 2018
🖨️ Print Article

5 in the morning, ‘The Lewis Sawyer Experience’
early morning Boys Club in Papa Sawyer’s Cave:
My lick for Lewis, “Lewis Sawyer, is my lawyer—”
his classic chuckle-comeback, “Well, you’re in bad shape then!”
Poets and last words, “Well, David McBurney is my attorney…”
But Lewis was a bullhorn, shouting names of our Political Prisoners,
Prisoners Of War, languishing forgotten in gulags across imprisoned
nation. He put 59,000 watts beneath their wings,without fanfare—
While reminding us: we’re just in Minimum Security…

Being buzzed in to the Mother Ship by Lewis
felt safe, welcome—presence appreciated—in
Good hands, a trillion times more reliable than Allstate
Lewis was the first face I’d see at the station—
unerring source for five-star information

Warmth was his uniform; his smile his badge,
reflecting respect back like a mirror from the
Mountaintop: all the authority a badass Angel,
sweet scientist, who could handle ‘situations…’
Required; I emerged from ‘Lewis Sawyer Experiences’
with double shot expresso optimism

A modest, minimalist, Monk life-stylist—
Count Basie of Kindness—
Not a whole lot of notes there
but his voicings sung and swung;
Duke Ellington of Passion:
Things he loved, he loved madly—
speaking of love—Lewis was LOVE
Not a mushy, gushy, sentimental bubblegum LOVE
But, an I believe in you, when no one else believes LOVE
I honor your light, anything I can do to amplify it LOVE
As you stand on stage, I’ll sit in the audience LOVE
Anything you need early in the morning LOVE
Release your worry beads, I got your back LOVE
Harness your hardships, “too big to fail” LOVE

Let’s suppose that place
preachers speak of Sundays
Exists; suppose I make the cut—
I bet Lewis will be there buzzing me in… Lewis Sawyer:
Presente!

poetry

More Stories


  • Thin Blue Wall of Silencing: Jalil Muntaqim vs. The (Language) Police
    Spirit of Mandela Writing Committee
    Thin Blue Wall of Silencing: Jalil Muntaqim vs. The (Language) Police
    06 Apr 2022
    Former political prisoner Jalil Muntaqim is still not treated as a free man. In this case, the State University of New York at Brockport succumbed to political pressure and moved his…
  • How Afro-Colombians are Fighting White Feminism
    Krys Cerisier
    How Afro-Colombians are Fighting White Feminism
    05 Apr 2022
    The struggles of Black, Indigenous, and Queer women must be part of any conversations about feminism in Latin America. Afro-Colombians like vice presidential candidate Francia Marquez exemplify this…
  • Rise of Violence, Deterioration of Rights Sparks Month-Long Actions Among Health Workers in Haiti
    Peoples Health Dispatch
    Rise of Violence, Deterioration of Rights Sparks Month-Long Actions Among Health Workers in Haiti
    05 Apr 2022
    Health workers in major public hospitals in Haiti continue to strike over bad working conditions, as others join them to protest a rise in gang violence and kidnappings.
  • New Cold War Neocolonialism: West Threatens Solomon Islands Over China Alliance
    Benjamin Norton
    New Cold War Neocolonialism: West Threatens Solomon Islands Over China Alliance
    05 Apr 2022
    The Solomon Islands, a sovereign country in the Pacific, broke ties with Taiwan and allied with China. So the US backed a failed violent coup attempt. Australia now calls the area its “backyard,” and…
  • U.S. Airstrike Killed 11 Libyan Civilians and Allies, Human Rights Groups Say
    Nick Turse
    U.S. Airstrike Killed 11 Libyan Civilians and Allies, Human Rights Groups Say
    05 Apr 2022
    A criminal complaint accuses a former commander at a U.S. airbase in Sicily of murder. But U.S. full spectrum dominance and its AFRICOM iteration are the true perpetrators.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us