AT THE OLD CONCERT HALL on the Bowery Round the table were seated one night A crowd of young fellows carousing; With them life seemed cheerful and bright. At the very next table was seated A girl who had fallen to shame. All the young fellows jeered at her weakness Till they heard an old woman exclaim: Chorus: She is more to be pitied than censured, She is more to be helped than despised, She is only a lassie who ventured On life's stormy path ill-advised. Do not scorn her with words fierce and bitter, Do not laugh at her shame and downfall; For a moment just stop and consider That a man was the cause of it all. There's an old-fashioned church round the corner, Where the neighbors all gathered one day While the parson was preaching a sermon O'er a soul that had just passed away. 'Twas the same wayward girl from the Bow'ry, Who a life of adventure had led -- Did the clergyman jeer at her downfall? No -- he asked for God's mercy and said: | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...DOWN THE MISSISSIPPI: 3. FULL MOON by JOHN GOULD FLETCHER THE WALLABOUT MARTYRS by WALT WHITMAN MASSACHUSETTS TO VIRGINIA by JOHN GREENLEAF WHITTIER EVENING by ISABELLA LOCKHART ALDERMAN I HAVE SEEN by JOHANNA AMBROSIUS |