I wonder if Massachusetts Avenue
in Indianapolis, Indiana
looks anything like Massachusetts
and the same for Vermont
Delaware
Ohio
Washington
New York Street
probably
Probably a whole historical trail
aligned with hipster hubs
in a city name
that names the names
of names
erased
not a trace of blood
renders significant
like the ancestry test
we did for my mother
and her mother
whose hair I’ve never seen
curl like mine
Malachi Carter is a proud Far East Side Indy poet. He describes his writing as “those inner city school field trips to a Broadway musical (before, during, and after).” As a third year poet in his thesis at Butler University, his works are a nod and dab to the city. His daily commute consists of teaching English and history at a high school for adults, The Excel Center. When his student asks if he has kids, he replies “yes, about a hundred,” serving as the Director of Elementary at Overcoming Church. As his weekly schedule would suggest, Malachi is occupied with joy in his heart. Other joys include performing spoken word, rapping, shooting photographs, and swing dancing. He loves drinking tea, so maybe over a cup Malachi can show you his podcast, Unapologetics Podcast or his mixtapes, blackhistory and blackhistorytoo. Malachi interchangeably expresses his art as “A+scribe” and would like for his listeners to know that the plus sign is silent.