Crying For Bread

Henry Clay Work 1832 (Middletown, Connecticut) – 1884 (Hartford, Connecticut)



"Please, lady! please pay my Ma for her sewing;
The suit fits you splendidly--that you'll allow.
Oh! don't say tomorrow! I see you are going;
But this will not hinder long--please pay me now.
Ma work'd all night for you! ev'ry minute;
Now she lies groaning with pain in her head;
And there by the pantry (with not a thing in it),
Sits poor little Theodore crying for bread!
Poor little Theodore crying for bread!"

"On! driver, on! they have all gone before us,
And I will not be late at the ball," Beauty said;
And wintry winds echoed her answer in chorus
With poor little Theodore crying for bread!
Poor little Theodore crying for bread!

"Please lady! please pay my Ma for her sewing;
I'll run and get change for you. Don't call me bold--
But how could you dance tonight all the time knowing
That we were left suffering, hungry and cold?
Ma looks so wild! she keeps calling for Daisy;
That was the name of my sister that's dead.
Oh! what shall I do, with my Ma going crazy,
And poor little Theodore cryiing for bread?
Poor little Theodore crying for bread!"

"Please lady! please pay my Ma for her sewing;
She must have some medicine--that let me buy.
Now, don't speak of beggars! 'tis money you're owing:
Do please, pay me part of it--else we must die."
On the wheels roll'd, and Fidele returned weeping;
Ah! in her absence a spirit had fled,
And morning light found her a weary watch keeping,
With poor little Theodore crying for bread!
Poor little Theodore crying for bread!"

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 27, 2023

1:24 min read
98

Quick analysis:

Scheme AbabxcxcC dcdCC AeaefcfcC AgagacaCC
Closest metre Iambic hexameter
Characters 1,455
Words 276
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 9, 5, 9, 9

Henry Clay Work

Henry Clay Work was an American composer and songwriter. more…

All Henry Clay Work poems | Henry Clay Work Books

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    The repetition of similar sounds at the ends of words or within words is known as _______.
    A imagery
    B stanza
    C rhythm
    D rhyme