Weekly Poem: 'In D.C.'

**By Elizabeth Alexander** In D.C. there are black women with golden Afros and African- print jumpsuits. Sidewalks sizzle in summer, a languid, loving fizz, a _Hey Girl_ hissing from the streets, ambient, _hey girl_ on all sides. Walk up and down Georgia Avenue or Florida Avenue or Columbia Road: _How you doin'? Hey._ You never know what you will miss when you leave, what will call you back, what will disappear forever, or what was never there quite as you now see it, hear it, write it in memory's poem.   "Elizabeth Alexander":http://www.pbs.org/newshour/indepth_coverage/entertainment/poetry/profiles/poet_alexander.html was born in Harlem, raised in Washington, D.C. and attended Yale University, where she now teaches African American Studies. She is the author of six books of poems, including most recently, "Crave Radiance: New and Selected Poems 1990-2010." On Jan. 20, 2009, "Alexander became just the fourth poet":http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/entertainment/jan-june09/inaug_poet_01-13.html to recite an original poem at a U.S. presidential inauguration. Look for an upcoming conversation with her here on Art Beat. Meantime, "watch Alexander's 2009 conversation":http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/entertainment/jan-june09/inaug_poet_01-13.html with Jeffrey Brown.