A riot is the language of the unheard. MLK

A riot is the language of the unheard. 
—martin luther king

John Cabot, out of Wilma, once a Wycliffe,
all whitebluerose below his golden hair,
wrapped richly in right linen and right wool,
almost forgot his Jaguar and Lake Bluff;
almost forgot Grandtully (which is The
Best Thing That Ever Happened To Scotch); almost
forgot the sculpture at the Richard Gray
and Distelheim; the kidney pie at Maxim’s,
the Grenadine de Boeuf at Maison Henri.

Because the Negroes were coming down the street.

Because the Poor were sweaty and unpretty
(not like Two Dainty Negroes in Winnetka)
and they were coming toward him in rough ranks.
In seas. In windsweep. They were black and loud.
And not detainable. And not discreet.

Gross. Gross. “Que tu es grossier!” John Cabot
itched instantly beneath the nourished white
that told his story of glory to the World.
“Don’t let It touch me! the blackness! Lord!” he whispered
to any handy angel in the sky.
But, in a thrilling announcement, on It drove
and breathed on him: and touched him. In that breath
the fume of pig foot, chitterling and cheap chili,
malign, mocked John. And, in terrific touch, old
averted doubt jerked forward decently,
cried, “Cabot! John! You are a desperate man,
and the desperate die expensively today.”

John Cabot went down in the smoke and fire
and broken glass and blood, and he cried “Lord!
Forgive these nigguhs that know not what they do.” 

Does anyone else want to slap John Cabot? It is hard to believe that this was a common occurrence in the past and still happens in today's world. The poem is set up similar to a story. I don't know where or if there is a line that separates short stories and poetry but I believe that this can go either way. The poem is set up by describing the man walking down the street, coming across Black men and begins to break down. There is a lot of good imagery in this poem that add to create an image of Cabot and keep the reader interested. Such intensity between races. This likely never actually happened but I like the fact that Brooks went out on a limb, creating a white man as the main character and showing how they treat the Blacks. I really enjoyed the poem!