The filthy beast! And is he here again, With his foul slobbering mouth and shuffling feet, To taint the atmosphere and shame the street, And shock the pure and holy that abstain? Disgusting brute! Disgraceful blot and stain On social order, civilized and sweet! Deal with him, Constable, as right and meet When laws are flouted that we must maintain. Put him in prison! Confiscate his bowl! Away with him and the accursed drink That wrecks his body and degrades his soul, And makes him loathsome to clean men! But think -- He had no choice. It was his only share Of all its pleasures that the world could spare. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE SHELL TO THE PEARL by LOUIS UNTERMEYER CALDWELL OF SPRINGFIELD [JUNE 23, 1780] by FRANCIS BRET HARTE THE THREE FISHERS by CHARLES KINGSLEY MY MISTRESS'S BOOTS by FREDERICK LOCKER-LAMPSON TO THE GARDEN THE WORLD by WALT WHITMAN COMPOSED BY THE SIDE OF GRASMERE by WILLIAM WORDSWORTH |