Explore "Three Days Before the Shooting" by Ralph Ellison on Textopian. Read with annotations and highlights.
I FOUND HIM STILL there in the hushed, clinical atmosphere of the corridor, kneeling with his elbows resting on the seat of the chair, his face in semishadow I could see his lips moving above his clasped hands, and with the security men having taken position down at the turn of the corridor, he seemed utterly alone. I was puzzled, then drawing closer I saw that his eyes were closed, and upon reaching him I realized that he was praying what was possibly one of the most improbable prayers ever addressed to God, his voice a passionate but almost inaudible whisper which reached my ear in hoarse bursts and soaring flights of supplication.
"Lord, have mercy," he prayed, "have mercy, Lord, on this unhappy land. .