Poor old Abner, old white-haired nigger!
I remember when you were so strong
you hung yourself by a rope round the neck
in Doc Hollister’s barn to prove you could beat
the faker in the circus—and it didn’t kill you.
Now your face is in your hands, and your elbows
are on your knees, and you are silent and broken.
Public-domain source text
Time the Hangman
by William Carlos Williams
From Standard Ebooks · standardebooks/william-carlos-williams_poetry
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This is a source transcription from Standard Ebooks, published in Past Poetry’s public-domain archive without line-by-line editorial notes. Public-domain source edition. Availability can vary by territory.
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