what ails you

i was waiting
for my buddy
to get off
from work.

i lit a square
and stood by
the loading
dock while i
waited.

this guy comes
out and starts
telling me how
evil the white
man is -
he said that
him and his
have been
oppressed,
kept down,
rubbed out.

i don't think
that's quite right,
i said.

No? you some
kind of racist?
he asked.

No,
i don't think
it has anything
to do with race,
i said.
it's all about
education
and poverty:
the more you
have of one,
the less
you have
of the
other.

see?
he said.
that's my point.
the white man
keeps me poor.

you're poor because
you're uneducated,
i said.

but i couldn't afford
to go to college,
he countered.

then you see
my point,
i replied.