Classic Poem

Rather than permit him
to testify in court
Giving reasons
why he stole from
Exclusive stores
then sent post-cards
To the police
to come and arrest him
— if they could —
They railroaded him
to an asylum for
The criminally insane
without trial

The prophylactic to
madness
Having been denied him
he went close to
The edge out of
frustration and
Doggedness —

Inflexible, finally they
had to release him —
The institution was
" overcrowded "
They let him go
in the custody of
A relative on condition
that he remain
Out of the state —

They " cured " him all
right
But the set-up
he fought against
Remains —
and his youthful deed
Signalizing
the romantic period
Of a revolt
he served well
Is still good —

Let him be
a factory whistle
That keeps blaring —
Sense, sense, sense!
so long as there's
A mind to remember
and a voice to
carry it on —
Never give up
keep at it!
Unavoided, terrifying
to such bought
Courts as he thought
to trust to but they
Double-crossed him.