16th & U
Malik Thompson
30 percent from 80 percent in 1980. Across the city, more than 20,000 black residents were displaced
between 2000 and 2013.
—”An Oral History of Gentrification in Shaw and U Street NW”, Washington City Paper
no stars tonight, only
muted shadows &
the wild shine of streetlamps
late August & I walk,
in this hour, of neon
lacing midnight
treading old haunts
& pavement unfamiliar
to my knees—
Look! an echo
of myself
lingering
from years long past
what was here once?
I remember or I forget—
& I push on, wading
into swarms of wraiths
who speak in frosted dictions
Malik Thompson (he/they) is a Black queer person from Washington, DC. His work has been published in the Cincinnati Review, Denver Quarterly, Poet Lore, and elsewhere. He has received fellowships and residencies from organizations including Cave Canem, Lambda Literary, the Anderson Center and Sundress Publications. He can be found on IG via the handle @latesummerstar.
© Variant Literature Inc 2023