Every time I see these signs

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.

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