I Be

I be those three red stars and stripes.
I be the gum on the concrete.
I be gogo bumping on the ave.
I be three piece chicken wings with mumbo sauce on the side.
I be my grandmother's smile, all nice and wide.
I be 3:15 dismissal, streets flooded with teens.
I be pickled eggs and sunflower seeds.
I be melting soles and popsicle juice.
I be moe. I be lit.

I be free lunch, I be grateful.
I be that hunger for better days, I be those blues in the darkest nights.
I be street protests for Afro rights.
I be poofy hair, and colored highlights.
I be the absence of my father.
I be the struggle of a city, the potential it holds.
I be the character and pride that it molds.
I be DC, I  be me.