1_ THEY CLEARED THEIR CONSCIENCE !

They were so hard, those years supposed
To be the sweetest in my life,
The early childhood that composed
The period void of care and strife.

I drudged to earn the bread l ate
With no one round to love or teach,
A poor girl that men would await
To find a chance to leap and reach.

All people gathered to destroy
That stupid girl that was too young.
They offered me a little toy,
And l connived what they had wrung.

The toy is still with me till now.
It is so dear, an old friend.
It cleared their conscience to endow
And lead my life to this foul end.

BY JOSEPH ZENIEH
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