1

My teacher
Tall and kindly
Has been shot, condemned by a people’s court
As a spy. His name is damned.
His books are destroyed. Talk about him
Is suspect and suppressed.
Suppose he is innocent?

2

The sons of the people have found him guilty
The factories and collective farms of the workers
The world’s most heroic institutions
Have identified him as an enemy.
No voice has been raised for him.
Suppose he is innocent?

3

The people has many enemies.
In the highest places
Sit enemies. In the most useful laboratories
Sit enemies. They build
Dykes and canals for the good of whole continents, and the canals
Silt up and the dykes
Collapse. The leader has to be shot.
Suppose he is innocent?

4