When Stevie F told me
how my people had killed Jesus
I beat the crap out of him.
Then I asked my father about it
and learned about antisemitism.

When I was waiting for a rock show to begin
at the Sidewalk Cafe
over there on Avenue A
John K came up to me
and said David had tried to jew him
out of the price they’d agreed upon.
I had heard of the expression
but never actually experienced it
in action.
I was surprised
having always thought that K was a Jewish name
but I kept quiet.
I didn’t need to beat John up.
He did that to himself
all too much.

Every couple of years
I get another dose of this sort of hate
never expressed towards me
and never that emphatic.
New York City
just might not be
too healthy for the antisemite
but
that’s not my cross to bear.