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Classic and Contemporary Poetry


THE HANGMAN'S BOY by NATHALIA CRANE

First Line: DRAWN FROM THE SILT OF THE AGES
Last Line: INTO A HANGMAN'S BOY.
Subject(s): BOYS;

Drawn from the silt of the ages,
Blastoderm girthed to destroy,
Turning the least of the laddies
Into a hangman's boy.

Slime from the first of the marshes,
Aching for formative role,
Rose and invaded a vestal,
Tainting an unborn soul.

Tiptoeing down from the primal,
Back of the date lines of Minn,
Gloating from Eden to Pottsville
Over an infant's sin.

Keeping its calendars secret,
Changing its visage and gear,
Now as a prince boy or Pomroy,
Cretin or Cavalier.

Making a half-wit a mother,
Making a moron a sire;
Placarding heirs to the portals --
Fruitage of love's desire.

Drawn from the silt of the ages,
Older than Odin or Troy --
Turning a Pottsville juvenile
Into a hangman's boy.



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