r.i.p. mlk, jr

back in junior high, we memorized this poem, incident, by countee cullen. i was completely knocked out by it, remembered it off the bat, and have not ever forgotten it. i'm leaving out a controversial word, out of respect for a group of people to which i do not belong... who use this word amongst themselves with myriad meaning and no less controversy than when it's used by folks not in the group. you can fill in the blank, but i'm leaving it blank here.

incident

once riding in old baltimore --
heart-filled, head-filled with glee,
i saw a baltimorian
keep looking straight at me.

now, i was eight and very small,
and he was no whit bigger.
and so i smiled, but he stuck out
his tongue, and called me, "n-----!"

i saw the whole of baltimore
from may until december,
but of all the things that happened there,
that's all that i remember.