As I read the latest insults the president hurled in his tweets, castigating Elijah Cummings, Chair of The House Oversight Committee, I could hear the words of the famous poem, “Incident” by the African American poet, Countee Cullen.  1903 to 1946.

INCIDENT

Once riding in ole Baltimore

Heart filled, head filled with glee.

I saw a Baltimorean keep looking straight at me.

Now I was eight and very small

And he was no whit bigger.

And so I smiled , but he poked out

His tongue and called me “Nigger!”

I saw the whole of Baltimore,

From May  until December.

Of all the things that happened there

That’s all that I remember.

This poem captures the Impact of a racially insulting name yelled at an African American boy many years ago.  We know that poets have the ability and power to describe truths that will last for years to come.

Today, in 2019, there are children and teens in Baltimore hearing and seeing on television, and reading in newspapers the president’s virulent untrue descriptions of their hometown.  How does that make them feel?

I doubt they will ever forget what Donald J. Trump said about Baltimore.

………………………………………………………….Joyce S. Anderson