Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, THE GIRL FROM SOAP SUDS ROW, by NATHALIA CRANE


Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

THE GIRL FROM SOAP SUDS ROW, by                    
First Line: Oh! Mistress margaret esther snow
Last Line: Found most of her genius in soap suds row.
Subject(s): Classmates; Poetry Readings; Poverty; Schoolmates


OH! Mistress Margaret Esther Snow,
She lived way down in Soap Suds Row;
She came to school in a gingham frock,
With breakfast stains upon her smock.

Oh! Mistress Margaret Esther Snow
Is rather poor as we all know;
Her socks are a most unusual sight,
And her shoes are never quite watertight.

She missed her lessons most every day;
She seemed too sad to want to play;
So Miss McHugh, our teacher grave,
Said she was meeker than any slave.

She so admonished poor Mistress Snow,
That the little girl longed for Soap Suds Row;
And lastly, the teacher, to make her bright,
Gave her a piece to learn to recite.

For three whole days we didn't know
The piece she had given to Mistress Snow;
But on Monday morning Miss McHugh
Said: "Margaret will speak for 2-A-2."

Then Mistress Margaret Esther wailed,
And all of us girls in sympathy paled;
But all of a sudden she walked right out,
She tossed her head as she turned about.

She made a most wonderful Grecian bow
That someone had taught her in Soap Suds Row;
Her eyes were shining—she wasn't afraid,
And she spoke "The Charge of the Light Brigade."

Did she speak that piece? Well, I guess she did.
'Twas a fight to a finish—she took off the lid;
The up-stairs classes—they heard her shout,
And the principal came to see what 'twas about.

But Mistress Margaret—she never stayed—
She gave us the whole of "The Light Brigade."
You could smell the smoke, you could see each gun;
You could hear the galloping horses run.

And we sat stunned in the 2-A-2
When we saw what Soap Suds Row could do;
For she told of the battle and everything done,
With everyone dead and the glory won.

Sometimes her voice was like sugar plums,
And then it shook with the noise of drums;
And the girls upstairs, they thought 'twas true
That there was a fight in the 2-A-2.

Well, when it was over, so sweet was her face
That she seemed as if dressed in velvet and lace;
And she made that wonderful bow once more,
Till her rather scant petticoat touched the floor.

We clapped our hands, and we made them smart,
And we were happy around the heart,
For the way that the teachers crowded in
Added a lot to the lovely din.

Poor Miss McHugh was pleased till she cried,
While the 2-A-2 just swelled with pride;
And so excited was Miss McHugh
That she didn't know just the thing to do.

But she kissed our beauty of Soap Suds Row,
Till Margaret's face was all aglow;
She mentioned that Marge was a human lute—
She was glad that her bread was bearing fruit.

Then the principal said in his stately way
That for 1-3-9 'twas a very proud day,
And that close alignment to classroom rules
Made genius flourish in public schools.

But somehow the girls in the 2-A-2,
They get things just a bit askew;
And they surmise that Mistress Snow
Found most of her genius in Soap Suds Row.





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