MAPPING THE CITY: DC Places, Part II
Danielle Evennou
SEE IT, SAY IT
DC MetroI press my ear to the ringing concrete platform.
Pledge to hear the whistle weep for my inconvenient
allegiance to the transit regime, uniformed in blue
to soothe our orange anxieties and vinyl seats.
The federal employees sit quietly, their ID tags
flag passage through white marble. Catalogues
of Boeing aircrafts in their laps, they bargain hunt.
The tracks are charged with electricity, highbred.
United, I board with: a backpack, grocery bag, any…
States of confusion keep foggy minds moving; proof
of the dynamite already in place. We wait. Kindly ask,
America, is that your bag?
Danielle Evennou is an ex-cheerleader from Central New Jersey. The daughter of a car salesman and stenographer, she values persuasion, shorthand, humor, and shiny things. Since 2008, she has served as president of the Board of Instigators for the DC women's spoken word organization mothertongue. With Regie Cabico, she is the co-host of Sparkle: a queer-driven reading series for all, at Busboys & Poets. Her work has been featured at Sunday Kind of Love, Queering Sound, Cheryl's Gone, Capital Pride, and Come Hear! in New York City. Her poems have appeared in Blue Collar Review, Objet d'Art, Xenith and DCist. In 2010, Evennou was the recipient of a Young Artist Grant from the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities and the winner of the 27th Annual Larry Neal Writer's Award in poetry. Her first chapbook, Queen of Tuesday, was published earlier this year.
Published in Volume 11, Number 4, Fall 2010.
To read more by this author:
Danielle Evennou on Kay Ryan: US Poets Laureate Issue
Danielle Evennou on mothertongue: Literary Organizations Issue