Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, "THE TWEED RING, 1868", by ANONYMOUS


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

"THE TWEED RING, 1868", by                    
First Line: The great moguls of gotham! Their proud purses
Last Line: Sleeps in the throttles of this ruthless three
Subject(s): "depressions, Economic;income Tax;money;social Classes;tammany Hall, New York City;tweed, William Marcy [boss] (1823-78);wealth;" Recessions;caste;riches;fortunes


The great Moguls of Gotham! their proud purses
Grow with the rich man's spoil and poor man's curses;
With a firm grasp on ev'ry pocket, they
Build fanes for which the servile people pay.
The Rich and Poor they plunder as they will—
The more the people howl the more they steal;
Millions on millions to their minions fling,
And make all rich who battle for the Ring.
As on a foe upon New York they forage,
Whose people stand it patiently—with courage.
Meanwhile the City debt by millions grows,
And what it is no human being knows,
Nor will, till Tweed lets Connolly declare
The mighty load the patient people bear.
The money which at Albany does work—
Comes from the tax-afflicted of New York;
The feather ravished from that well-plucked mart,
Wings the sharp arrow to her bleeding heart!
A bold Triumvirate now masters all,—
Chief consuls, Sweeney, Tweed, and Oakey Hall,—
The World's Emporium, soon to be,
Sleeps in the throttles of this ruthless Three.





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