Page:The cry for justice - an anthology of the literature of social protest. - (IA cryforjusticea00sinc).pdf/370

They sang of God an' angels,
  An' heaven's eternal joy,
An' things I stopped believin'
  When I was still a boy;

They spoke of good an' evil,
  An' offered savin' grace—
An' some showed love for mankin'
  A-shinin' in their face,

An' some their graft was workin'
  The same as me an' you:
But most was urgin' on us
  Wot they believed was true.

We sang an' dozed an' listened,
  But only feared, us men,
The time when, service over,
  We'd have to mooch again

An' walk the icy pavements
  An' breast the snowstorm gray
Till the saloons was opened
  An' there was hints of day.

So, when they called out "Sinners,
  Won't you come!" I came . . .
But in my face was pallor
  And in my heart was shame . . .
An' so forgive me, Jesus,
  Fer mockin' of thy name—