I wrote this last year, inspired by someone who really used to make me mad... jh, 072409

We go into the Greek deli and eat spanakopita and drink grainy black coffee
And wax rhapsodic about the ancient culture, the friendly people, the irresistible food
Then we walk outside and you say, “F**king Mexican kids” when you see our tires slashed

We watch a taiko drum concert downtown at a spring festival
Exhilarated by the pounding energy, delighted by the musicians’ exotic, Americanized good looks
Then on the way home, you realize that the “godammed Koreans” didn’t give you back your credit card at the tee shirt shop

“The fat black lady” who sits at a receptionist desk
“The old Chinese guy” who cut you off
“The stupid white girl” who forgot to put the eggs in the bag at the checkout counter
Have all angered you, as representatives of their respective races
With their faults and deficiencies, that surely are evidence of their inferiority to you
A fifth-generation son of Latin descent
Who grew up on Cheerios and chorizo
Mariachis and the Mets
Inheriting the racism
That makes this a small world, after all.

- 032708