The Tragic in Time

So strong the prison doors
but the wind gets under
and at moments a pale sun
in an old time picks out the folds
of an executioner’s robe.
In a resort town
they strike up a tune
meanwhile having set down his hoe
a seated day-laborer watches
the peaceful executants
all to be massacred
within the year
who claim to believe in their immortal souls
and the resurrection of the body.