Jesse B Semple is Still Here

"In my time I have been cut, stabbed, run over, hit by a car, tromped by a horse, robbed, fooled, deceived, double-crossed, dealt seconds, and mighty near blackmailed--but I am still here!
I have been laid off, fired and not rehired, Jim Crowed, segregated, insulted, eliminated, locked in, locked out, locked up, left holding the bag, and denied relief. I have been caught in the rain, caught in jails, caught short with my rent--but I am still here"

My mama should have named me Job instead of Jesse B. Semple. I have been underfed, underpaid, undernourished and everything but undertaken--yet I am still here.  The only thing I am afraid of now--is that I will die before my time."

...."what do you expect to die of--complaining?"

"No,".."I expect to ugly away."
...I thought the man would laugh, [but] he ..did not know I was making a joke."

from "The Later Simple Stories" by Langston Hughes