Home » Poems » Angela Douglas » Whitechapel, London 1888

Whitechapel, London 1888

Wanton women of Whitechapel
Desperate and destitute
Weakened from want
Shrunken stomachs barren of bread
Dying from disease in dingy dosshouses
Selling themselves on the streets for shillings
to buy beer, a bed for the night
or a bonny new bonnet
to enable them to appear more
enticing to men with money to spend
A woeful and wretched existence
worn down by the world
envisioning escape

Evil born and bred in that cesspool of sin
unleashed upon the East End of London
Dwelling in the darkness
that deplorable demon
Swallowed up by the shadows
Propositioning his prey
Whisking them away
Where he wouldn't be witnessed
as he went about his work
would not be disturbed as he
did the dreadful deed

A single swift stroke
of the knife he had
kept carefully hidden
our of her sight that
he now held in his hand
Slicing through her throat
severing the throbbing vessels
that sustained her life
sending blood spurting
She would soon succumb to
exsanguination
Laid out like a slaughtered lamb
Eviscerated
Entrails slung over her shoulder
like a bloody boa
her body left lying there
for those who dozed as she died
to discover as a new day dawned

Two in one night
filled all females with fright
Yet with scant choices
save to starve or forego shelter
they continued to seek clients
taking their chances
of drawing the death card
from the deck
well aware that they
were destined to die
no matter what they did
for the felony of poverty
There was more than one
murderer in their midst
What difference did it make
if that dark angel came calling
to claim them due to drink
sickness, starvation
or the malevolent mind
of a madman?

Scotland yard stymied in their search
forensic science far in the future
descriptions differed
clues were few
A letter scribbled in scarlet ink
addressed "From Hell"
accompanied by a small cardboard box
containing a kidney
that they could not verify came from the victim
A message scrawled on a wall
that made no sense at all

Mary Kelly mutilated
Found in the morning
dead in the bed
of the boarding house
where she was behind on the rent
Sheets stained red
Her carcass carved to the bone
The flesh of her face filleted
what was left of her
hardly appearing human
A heinous and horrendous
gruesome grand finale
disappearing after her demise
as if he had been but a bad dream
vanishing into vapor like a vampire
in the morning light
his moniker and motive a mystery


To this very day
no one knows
no one can say
Who was Saucy Jacky?

Post Comments

Poetrysoup is an environment of encouragement and growth so only provide specific positive comments that indicate what you appreciate about the poem. Negative comments will result your account being banned.

Please Login to post a comment

Nick Ravenswood

Date: 10/9/2021 2:52:00 PM

Great stuff! I've just finished the book: 'The Five' by Hallie Rubenhold. It's a closer look at the victims and their histories. Take a look, if you haven't already. Your poem is really powerful.Thank you.

Angela Douglas
Date: 10/9/2021 8:12:00 PM

I've read many books about the Ripper murders, I've always found it fascinating but I haven't gotten to that one yet. I'll have to check it out. Some of the victims had told several different and at times conflicting stories to others about their past so it will be interesting if someone's been able to sort them out.

Rico Leffanta

Date: 4/27/2021 11:35:00 AM

Well done! Victoria's England was a terrible place to live for the English who were neither rich nor well-born! Aloha! Rico

L Milton Hankins

Date: 4/27/2021 8:39:00 AM

Angela, this is an incredible write. Normally I don't read long poems, but you held my attention from the first to last word. Learned some horror history, too. Wonder if the real Jack was ever known?

Angela Douglas
Date: 4/27/2021 1:13:00 PM

I'm currently working on a stage play set in Whitechapel during the time the murders were taking place as well. I've studied that era and the murders for years. Someone knew who it was even if it was just the killer himself but we will likely never know.

Tom Cunningham

Date: 4/27/2021 7:45:00 AM

Powerful verse Angela, there's a lot of theories about who it was but to this day it remains a mystery. Tom

Angela Douglas
Date: 4/27/2021 1:18:00 PM

And it likely always will be unless some really hard, indisputable evidence is discovered which this far out from it is very unlikely. One thing I've found interesting is that at first Dr. Bond, the police physician, wrote that he thought that the murderer must have anatomical/medical knowledge but then became adamant that he didn't'. It seems to me that whoever did it would have had to have been at least somewhat knowledgeable about where things were in the body, especially to specifically make an incision to remove a kidney. It leaves me wondering if Bond wasn't trying to divert attention away from the medical community and someone in particular that maybe he knew was the killer. One theory of many. The theory that it was a woman is also an interesting one. No one would have suspected or been looking for a woman. She could have walked away from the scene without anyone paying any attention.