The Pennsylvania Disaster Poem Rhyme Scheme

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'Twas in the year of and in the month of June	A
Ten thousand people met with a fearful doom	B
By the bursting of a dam in Pennsylvania State	C
And were burned and drowned by the flood oh pity their fate	C
	-
The embankment of the dam was considered rather weak	D
And by the swelled body of water the embankment did break	E
And burst o'er the valley like a leaping river	F
Which caused the spectators with fear to shiver	F
	-
And on rushed the mighty flood like a roaring big wave	G
Whilst the drowning people tried hard their lives to save	G
But eight thousand were drowned and their houses swept away	H
While the spectators looked on stricken with dismay	H
	-
And when the torrent dashed against the houses they instantly toppled o'er	F
Then many of the houses caught fire which made a terrific roar	I
And two thousand people by the fire lost their lives	J
Consisting of darling girls and boys also men and their wives	K
	-
And when the merciless flood reached Johnstown it was fifty feet high	L
While in pitiful accents the drowning people for help did cry	L
But hundreds of corpses by the flood were swept away	H
And Johnstown was blotted out like a child's toy house of clay	H
	-
Alas there were many pitiful scenes enacted	M
And many parents for the loss of their children have gone distracted	M
Especially those that were burned in the merciless flame	N
Their dear little ones they will never see again	O
	-
And among the sad scenes to be witnessed there	P
Was a man and his wife in great despair	P
Who had drawn from the burning mass a cradle of their child	Q
But oh heaven their little one was gone which almost drove them wild	Q
	-
Oh heaven it was a pitiful and a most agonising sight	R
To see parents struggling hard with all their might	R
To save their little ones from being drowned	S
But 'twas vain the mighty flood engulfed them with a roaring sound	S
	-
There was also a beautiful girl the belle of Johnstown	T
Standing in bare feet on the river bank sad and forlorn	U
And clad in a loose petticoat with a shawl over her head	V
Which was all that was left her because her parents were dead	V
	-
Her parents were drowned and their property swept away with the flood	M
And she was watching for them on the bank where she stood	W
To see if they would rise to the surface of the water again	O
But the dear girl's watching was all in vain	X
	-
And as for Conemaugh river there's nothing could it surpass	Y
It was dammed up by a wall of corpses in a confused mass	Y
And the charred bodies could be seen dotting the burning debris	Z
While the flames and sparks ascended with a terrific hiss	A2
	-
The pillaging of the houses in Johnstown is fearful to describe	B2
By the Hungarians and ghouls and woe betide	C2
Any person or party that interfered with them	D2
Because they were mad with drink and yelling like tigers in a den	O
	-
And many were to be seen engaged in a hand to hand fight	R
And drinking whisky and singing wild songs oh what a shameful sight	R
But a number of the thieves were lynched and shot	E2
For robbing the dead of their valuables which will not be forgot	E2
	-
Mrs Ogle like a heroine in the telegraph office stood at her post	F2
And wired words of warning else more lives would have been lost	G2
Besides she was warned to flee but from her work she wouldn't stir	F
Until at last the merciless flood engulfed her	F
	-
And as for the robbery and outrage at the hands of the ghouls	H2
I must mention Clara Barton and her band of merciful souls	I2
Who made their way fearlessly to the wounded in every street	J2
And the wounded and half crazed survivors they kindly did treat	J2
	-
Oh heaven it was a horrible sight which will not be forgot	E2
So many people drowned and burned oh hard has been their lot	E2
But heaven's will must be done I'll venture to say	H
And accidents will happen until doomsday	H

William Topaz Mcgonagall

The Pennsylvania Disaster Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis

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