“Talking so quietly; when they hear the cars
And the knock at the door, and they look at each other quickly
And the woman goes to the door with a stiff face,
Smoothing her dress.
"We are all good citizens here. We believe in the Perfect State."”

Litany for Dictatorships (1935)

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Stephen Vincent Benét 102
poet, short story writer, novelist 1898–1943

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