The Town 5

in the prison they made all the inmates
wear the latest styles
you could see them there strutting around in flares
& shiny shoes
with yellow sunglasses resting in their hair

for dinner they ate lobster most nights
often followed by a night out at the opera
during the day the guest lecturers included
noam chomsky
& someone with a french sounding name
conversation centred around the late impressionists
& the significance of the ancient rome metropolis
for contemporary western society
fragmented as it is
people had to be turned away
who claimed they committed crimes
they didn't really do
& often they found quite respectable people
trying to sneak in thru the letter slot

it wasn’t all fun & games by any means
sometimes the lobster seemed a little cold
& once the baritone almost forgot his lines