“Lenox Ave. (February 3, 2020)”– a poem by Carrie Magness Radna

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 Phillie Casablanca / CC BY

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Lenox Ave. (February 3, 2020)
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I wasn’t expecting the sound of seagulls
& water when I popped out of 2 train
at 135th Street

Randy birds mating,
attacking trash bags
outside of Harlem Medical Center
as I paced a few blocks
on Lenox Ave., also named
after the firebrand Malcolm X,
I wasn’t prepared for that

but where were the jazz greats
of yesteryear? I wanted my heart
& guts to be smacked shut
by their vibrato & music,
even on an early Monday morning

before the Research all-staff meeting
at Schomburg Center, &
their various bland bagels and croissants
but where Black History and culture
is still vibrant and alive,
where Maya Angelou
once danced upon the river-stoned floor
that held the ashes of Langston Hughes.

After learning the subservience of slavery through art
& the photography of effervescent Black women,
I crossed 10 blocks on Lenox
to Red Rooster Cafe
with my boss, devouring
chicken & waffles
high as the fattest tower

on 125th Street;
we sachet our way back to Queens,
“Like a Natural Woman”
sung by the angel Aretha
led our way from blessed Harlem.

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Carrie Magness Radna is a NYPL cataloger, choral singer, lyricist and poet born in Norman, Oklahoma. Previous publications: .The Oracular Tree, Tuck Magazine, Muddy River Poetry Review, .First Literary Review-East, Muddy River Poetry Review, The Poetic Bond VIII & IX (Willowdown Books),.and Shot Glass Journal..Her latest poetry collection,.Hurricanes never apologize (Luchador Press) was published in December 2019; it’s now available on Amazon.com. She lives in Manhattan with her husband Rudolf.

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