god bless deli speaks to my now gentrified neighborhood
Don’t you dare Columbus us,
call us a hidden gem, TikTok us
into a taste for unfamiliar mouths.
You cannot discover
what’s already rooted,
flourishing before you even arrive.
We’ve been here:
bearded, black hair, Yemen’s finest.
Assalamualaikum kafal hala.
Been Muslim. Still Muslim—
before during and after 9/11.
Always halal and
to this day still delicious.
Brother Alex, yeah he’s on the grill,
A stainless-steel Sahara.
Watch the oil dance
like it was Eid-al Fitr.
Steam rises like the Adhan,
and we recite the Hadith of old New York City.
Takbir to the eggandcheeseonarollsaltpepperketchup,
the chicken cutlet on a hero,
the 2 for 5 special.
The pilgrimage of chopped-cheese into toasted bread
while the aroma of lamb and rice
spills out of Styrofoam.
So good, y’all,
we can make a conservative Baptist
say Mashallah!
So come, Yallah.
Build
your bodega app,
your Subway restaurant,
your artisinal bread shop,
whatever you wish.
Just understand
that our hot sauce melts plexiglass.
Wallahi, we have seasoned our French Fries
with the salt of bigoted tears since 2001.
Born of arid Earth,
a life of heat and detonation.
God Bless is our oasis of opportunity.
You are most welcome,
but best believe
Habibi,
We plan on
Staying Right Here.
“God Bless Deli Speaks to My Now Gentrified Neighborhood,” by Usman Hameedi, adapted from Staying Right Here, Copyright © 2023. Courtesy of Button Poetry.
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