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The Hangman at Home

by Carl Sandburg, 1920

What does the hangman think about
 When he goes home at night from work?
 When he sits down with his wife and
 Children for a cup of coffee and a
 Plate of ham and eggs, do they ask
 Him if it was a good day’s work
 And everything went well or do they
 Stay off some topics and talk about
 The weather, base ball, politics
 And the comic strips in the papers
 And the movies? Do they look at his
 Hands when he reaches for the coffee
 Or the ham and eggs? If the little
 Ones say, Daddy, play horse, here’s
 A rope—does he answer like a joke:
 I seen enough rope for today?
 Or does his face light up like a
 Bonfire of joy and does he say:
 It’s a good and dandy world we live
 In. And if a white face moon looks
 In through a window where a baby girl
 Sleeps and the moon gleams mix with
 Baby ears and baby hair—the hangman—
 How does he act then? It must be easy
 For him. Anything is easy for a hangman,
 I guess.

Published in Smoke and Steel
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