DOS PASSOS, John. "They Are Dead Now"
VANZETTI, Bartolomeo (1888-1927)SACCO, Nicola (1891-1927)literature: poetryDOS PASSOS, John (January 14, 1896 — September 28, 1970)New Masses October 1927, 228–229.
This isn’t a poemThis is two men in grey prison clothes.One man sits looking at the sick flesh of his hands—hands that haven’t worked for seven years.Do you know how long a year is?Do you know how many hours there are in a daywhen a day is twenty-three hours on a cot in a cell,in a cell in a row of cells in a tier of rows of cellsall empty with the choked emptiness of dreams?Do you know the dreams of men in jail?They are dead nowThe black automatons have won.They are burned up utterlytheir flesh has passed into the air of Massachusetts their dreams have passed into the wind.“They are dead now,” the Governor’s secretary nudges the Governor,“They are dead now,” the Superior Court Judge nudgesthe Supreme Court Judge,“They are dead now” the College President nudgesthe College PresidentA dry chuckling comes up from all the dead:The white collar dead; the silkhatted dead; the frockcoated deadThey hop in and out of automobilesbreathe deep in reliefas they walk up and down the Boston streets.they are free of dreams nowfree of greasy prison denimtheir voices blow back in a thousand lingoessinging one songto burst the eardrums of MassachusettsMake a poem of that if you dare!