Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, OSAWATOMIE, by CARL SANDBURG


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

OSAWATOMIE, by                 Poet's Biography
First Line: I don't know how he came
Last Line: And the fool killers had a laugh
Subject(s): Capital Punishment; Crime & Criminals; Native Americans; Hanging; Executions; Death Penalty; Indians Of America; American Indians; Indians Of South America


I DON'T know how he came,
shambling, dark, and strong.

He stood in the city and told men:
My people are fools, my people are young and strong,
my people must learn, my people are terrible
workers and fighters.
Always he kept on asking: Where did that blood come
from?

They said: You for the fool killer,
you for the booby hatch
and a necktie party.

They hauled him into jail.
They sneered at him and spit on him,
And he wrecked their jails,
Singing, "God damn your jails,"
And when he was most in jail
Crummy among the crazy in the dark
Then he was most of all out of jail
Shambling, dark, and strong,
Always asking: Where did that blood come from?

They laid hands on him
And the fool killers had a laugh




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