I find myself reflecting on this Langston Hughes poem a fair bit:
The census man,
The day he came round,
Wanted my name
To put it down.I said, JOHNSON,
ALBERTA K.
But he hated to write
The K that way.He said, What
Does K stand for?
I said, K–
And nothing more.He said, I’m gonna put it
K-A-Y.
I said, If you do,
You lie.My mother christened me
ALBERTA K.
You leave my name
Just that way!He said, Mrs.,
(With a snort)
Just a K
Makes your name too short.I said, I don’t
Give a damn!
Leave me and my name
Just like I am!Furthermore, rub out
That MRS., too–
I’ll have you know
I’m Madam to you!
This is exactly how Facebook makes me feel.
