The End of Indifference:
An Alternative to “The Hangman”
by Maurice Ogden
The hangman sauntered into town in the middle of the night His head
held high, each passing building turned in fright With a minuscule grin,
he reached the main square
And set up his gallows, the first sign of despair
I heard footsteps tonight that jolted me awake
It gave me quite a fright, for heaven’s sake
‘Who is up at this hour’? began my wondering
In the still and quiet air, my mind already thundering
The gallows were built next to the place of law
They were as long as the entrance and just as tall
With sunrise the people awoke and stepped outside
The cries were immediate; the suspicion implied
I awoke to the taste of death and the smell of wailing
Did this nighttime visitor bring this ailing?
When I found the gallows, I began to cry
Has my hometown’s security all been a lie?
Each mind held one singular thought
Why, and for whom, were the gallows brought?
Confused glances, pointed blames
The people anxiously waiting for the announcing of the names
I think of my innocent neighbors, my dearest friends and family
Surely it wasn’t for them that we have been brought the gallows-tree!
But how many secrets have hid in our smiles?
‘Hurry,’ I plead, ‘get on with the trials!’
The hangman winked and flashed his signature smile,
Allowing the suspense to build and the terror to compile
Alas, he spoke, a riddle that decreed:
“He who serves me best, shall earn the rope on the gallows-tree.”
First the alien, then the Jew
Then the infidel, the fifth and sixth all went through
The mighty hands of the hangman and the eager slew of the rope Shattered bodies; shattered hope
Shira Weiss, March 24, 2014