A Poem In Celebration Of Juneteenth 2026

Day They Buried Nathan "Big Jim" Robinson 1976

Day They Buried Nathan “Big Jim” Robinson.
Cut His Body Off: New Orleans Traditional Jazz Style, 
Lord

All congregate outside his house.
Waiting for Big Jim’s people 
to come out too lead:

A double brass band,
				full-fledged,
							traditional,
jazz,											
         funeral,
																march,

Lord.

Meanwhile, a solo saxman mourns outside all alone.
Cryin’ alto notes for the man died 86 years old.
Never again will his legendary trombone play
into New Orleans' 
night air.

Outside congregation begins the rite.
A Strut: men, backs ramrod straight, tuxedo, suits, top hats, crisscross paths, cut mass.
A Dance: women, undulating, brilliant dresses, feathered boas, swirling every direction everywhere.
A Stroll: slow, dignified, meaningful walk within crowd Saint Phillips Street.

Tomorrow  
Lafitte will be as usual,  
the former Morand-Tremé slave plantation, 
poor black children will stare at the inferno outside.

But today May 6, 1976
the street is full
with people:
				
       Strutting,
                                                                                         Dancin’,
                                                             Strolling,
 Singin’,
                                                                                        Shouting,

Under a sky of multi-colored parasols.

A Poem In Celebration Of Juneteenth 2026
Day They Buried Nathan “Big Jim” Robinson 1976