esteem practiced

Esteem Practiced

He said, "You black nigger!"
I said to myself "I should whoop his ass!"
But I said to him, "say it to my face! My black nigger face."
The face that (I had practiced for this moment) "The face that sowed your farms,
That picked your cotton, that built your railroads,
That elevated your sports, that rocked your music, that fought your wars,
That graduated your schools, that cooled your houses, that made your almanac,
That celled your phones, that dried your clothes, elevated you indoors,
That put shoes on your horses, that mowed your lawns, that refrigerated your food,
That created your stoves, that gave you stop lights, that taught you to type."
"Say it to a face that is strong, proud, and tired of people trying
To make me feel like I'm nothing,
When black niggers have done more than you."
He looked me in the face, swung and broke my nose.
I should have practiced ducking.