MAPPING THE CITY: DC Places, Part II Truth Thomas   NEW YORK AVENUE after Thomas Sayers Ellis There are no tumble weeds on this road— ......... .........tumble strip clubs hub caps, cigarettes maybe .........but no weeds. With concrete hands, asphalt fingers ......... .........the city holds on ......... .........to its own. Old tires stick .........in hair of bushes like super-sized licorice lifesavers. .........Traffic lights are ushers .........guiding cars into lanes ......... .........like pews. Spitting distance from sidewalks ......... .........track marks of trains .........are raised on snowy embankments. It is a high cholesterol street. .........It is a sniper crawl ......... .........shivery morning. Hawk can see his breath today .........coughing clouds ......... .........into rush-hour sky. As I watch all the cars passing by me .........tremble-sipping .........from a hot cup of coffee I cannot help but think of you— .........for .........all their headlights look alike all their sighs and wipers .........all their honks and whoring all their high beams, all their heaters .........all their headlights .........look alike— as only go go postered trees .........bear witness, standing here beside me .........under a revival tent of gray lifting up their branches ......... .........like holy hands.   Truth Thomas is a singer and poet, born in Knoxville, TN, and raised in Washington, DC. He is the author of three collections of poetry: Bottle of Life (Flipped Eye, 2010), A Day of Presence (Flipped Eye, 2008), and Party of Black (Flipped Eye/Mouthmark, 2006). He serves on the editorial board of Little Patuxent Review and the Tidal Basin Review. His work has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize. Publications include African Voices, The Houston Literary Review, Mosaic Magazine, The Ringing Ear: Black Poets Lean South, and The 100 Best African American Poems.   Published in Volume 11, Number 4, Fall 2010.   To read more by this author: Truth Thomas