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


  • Pentagon pimps keep pimp slappin' and kickin' us to the curb
    Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
    Pentagon pimps keep pimp slappin’ and kickin’ us to the curb…
    16 Feb 2022
                                                           …
  • The Realities of Temp Work
    Eugene Puryear
    The Realities of Temp Work
    16 Feb 2022
    Poverty, wage theft, injuries, and even death are features of the temporary employment system.
  • BAR Book Forum: Jon Jon Moore’s “The Calling: Poems”
    Roberto Sirvent, BAR Book Forum Editor
    BAR Book Forum: Jon Jon Moore’s “The Calling: Poems”
    16 Feb 2022
    In this series, we ask acclaimed authors to answer five questions about their book.
  • With Its Doomsday Clock at 100 Seconds to Midnight,  The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists Calls for Escalating US Aggression Against Russia
    Roger D. Harris
    With Its Doomsday Clock at 100 Seconds to Midnight, The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists Calls for Escalating US Aggression Against Russia
    16 Feb 2022
    The venerated Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists is not a formation that peace advocates can support.
  • The Capitalist Imperative Driving Cruel and Bipartisan US Migration Policies
    Daniel Melo
    The Capitalist Imperative Driving Cruel and Bipartisan US Migration Policies
    16 Feb 2022
    Capitalism's need for labor is the determining factor in immigration policy. Its contradictions create a system that is consistently inhumane.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us