Poetry: Another Ode to Detroit by Raphael Jenkins
In “Another Ode to Detroit,” the speaker praises the mundane squalor and the extraordinary valor of the city of Detroit, Michigan. Never romanticizing, but always keeping it real: Jenkins skillfully paints a realist picture of a resilient city we can all see he deeply cares for.
Another Ode to Detroit
praise the sky graying this city & the
seagulls too dumb to leave before winter
praise the potholes & the cracked rims they birth
& the cluck who haunted the bus stop
at Larned & Congress shirtless
no matter the weather definitely
praise that man too
praise the trap & the hedge of protection
when we visit praise every summer night
& every blunt matched in a momma’s basement
praise the kush & pearl game praise the aunties &
their dirty rice the bacon fat in the popcorn the Lawry’s too
praise the chili cheese fries when I’m hooch-twined
& the green lights leading me safely home
& to every shorty seeking a way out
without their momma weeping
in her high-church-black & veil
& to those already a sweet memory
on someone’s tongue
praise
praise
& praises be to this palace we’ve built
all wrought iron & sandwich bags
all dirt-floor & plastic ficus
praise our fingerprints holding it all together
praise the sirens still wailing the clinging
praise the fighters & the fists & the river
as she keeps trying to clean us & keeps on
failing praise her determination her foresight
praise the breeze in every hood
praise each telephone wire each spring
rain praise every early snowfall & snowball
fight leading to hands being thrown
praise to the city my young won’t suffer through
& to whose lips I’d wish kiss now if I could
the last time that tune wet my tongue
I sang for years I’m still singing
Raphael Jenkins
Raphael prefers to go by Ralph, as he feels it suits him better and he’s heard every Ninja Turtle joke ever uttered. He is a native of Detroit, Michigan currently residing in Kentucky with his Boo-thang and their four-year-old boy. He is a chef by day and an essayist, poet, screenwriter in his dreams. He, like Issa Rae, is rooting for everybody Black. His work is featured or forthcoming on his mama’s fridge, his close friends’ inboxes, Hobart, 3 Elements Review, HASH Journal and Flypaper Lit. Follow him on twitter: @RALPHEEBOI
