Yolanda Wisher: GERMANTOWN AVENUE SPEAKS • Cleaver Magazine

Yolanda Wisher
germantown avenue speaks

& coulter

school to school
the dark writes itself
a poem of youngblood façades
playin in the face of founding fatherhoods
cobblestones chucklin low—got ghost jokes
stagin colonial comedies & catcall sitcoms
yoga & ubuntu with nicole in the old piano showroom
in the pine place of louisa may’s little women
where masons lodged lowdown in gothic revival
a bookstore like a diner in a hopper painting
but Black—square for markets & martyrs
school to school—the light rights itself

& schoolhouse

it all started with a dream
brotherhood tech services—curious little minds
waitin for a sign—a lightning bolt of Beauty
secret banquet hall of treasures
above the imperfect gallery
it all started with rumbas in the cane
with a car croonin whitney—i have nothing nothing nothing
a sneaker shop kickin monica—don’t take it personal
local calls 25 cents sign waitin
for the return of its booth boo
gtown dollar plus la rose
live jazz school to school
the dark writes itself into crescendo

& chelten

deluxenaildesignpawnshopbeefchickenlamb
checkcashincrabhousestopprofilinmuslimsafricanhair
raisin the dead 7 days a week
rip murraysnowbossfurniture
rip soundofgermantownnowbrothahalal
we accept bodyoilsfoodstampsebtwisecracksinthearmor
school to school
barbers barberin
thedarkwritesitselfinto corners
dine-in or takeout—you are loved
bluebrothaonaskateboard
chickenjointwithlonglines
diamondtoothbrothaatthebusstopsmilin

& price

school to school
the dark writes itself into prepaid plans
blowdryout sale extensions—i want to be chosen
pride of lionesses for jehovah—say less—for lease
we specialize in flowers for all occasions
like the return of jesus on moody monday
or the resurrection of dinah in a bonnet on a mural
(though we don’t know what she really loved like)
coffee here in bluntville—celebrity barber shop swagu
scaffoldin & trap doors to nubia—cleopatra II
no loitering—negro achievement week breadcrumbs
scattered like tumbleweave—hair braiding express
i want to be chosen—1928 reverb—no public restrooms
in god’s given gift salon—walk-ins welcome

& haines

tymeka’s hair salon—soul food
three elder pines lean & trade secrets
near the fence of the abandoned school
heavily lidded with graffiti lashes
freshfishhoagiehalalbreakfast
23—65—booksclothingincense
junkcarswanted—thenilecafe.com
sandalwood sax of astral traveling
or le matin des noire floatin from
an open garage door—glimpses
of petunia pots & ancient spider plants
archie shepp or pharaoh sanders?
high street or low country?
turquoise or maroon uptown?
specializin in natural air
specializin in au contraire
space available—work in progress
the future is in this center
school to school
the dark writes itself

Yolanda Wisher is the author of Monk Eats an Afro. She was named inaugural Poet Laureate of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania in 1999 and third Poet Laureate of Philadelphia in 2016. A Pew and Cave Canem Fellow, Wisher received the Leeway Foundation’s Transformation Award in 2019 for her commitment to art for social change. In 2022, she was named a Philadelphia Cultural Treasures Artist Fellow. Wisher performs a blend of poetry and song with her band Yolanda Wisher & The Afroeaters. She lives in Germantown.