Fifth Avatar, Four

Oldham Manning,
Four Little Fates

Good little Tom glanced left and right and thought
That all was clear before his hasty feet;
So there he stepped and there his steps were brought
To their swift end upon a city street.
His little woman, Beth, at home, was told,
By Sergeant Gray, where he had died, and how;
On hearing this and that, her heart grew cold
And ceased its beating in the here and now.
Their children then became wards of the State:
Poor little Ben grew up to be no good,
And little Charlotte followed in his wake;
They joined a gang, and with that gang they stood
Before Judge Black, who thought they both should hang,
If hang he could, beside their nasty gang.