Poor little dwarf souls starving there!
Never a carol or note of bird,
As he melts away in the azure blue,
From the tenement house is ever heard;
Nor is felt the wealth of diamond dew,—
Only curses and oaths fill the smoky air,
To poison the babies God leases there!
Poor little tenement souls that grow
Away from the flowers—by bricks shut in;
Never the sweetness of life to know,