For The Night Soil Men Read It on the Walls

Twice did (XVII) Dickens write,

Sickening him as it did,

This gross (XI) character

Pervading (II) London, noble

Once, whose putrid (VI) stench

Did paint the (XIV) city squalid.

[                                    ]

I. Raw Umber Brown 

II. Overcast Slate 

IV. Deep Azure 

V. Oily Black 

VI. Mustard Green 

VIII. Cognac Brown 

[                                    ]

Taking center (VIII) stage,

In truth it was the (XV) water,

As (IV) Dr. Snow would

Prove, via the Broad Street (IX) pump,

Disproving favored

Beliefs in the (XVIII) “miasma.”

[                                   ]

IX. Iron Gray 

XI. Dull Gray-Brown 

XII. Sallow Green 

XIV. Pewter Gray 

XV. Murky Olive 

XVII. Charcoal Gray

[                                   ]

And though (XII) cholera

Ceased its (XX) outbreaks for a (XIX) time,

The wretched, fetid

(XXV) River, still flowed, making the

(XXII) Westminster (XXI) tools hang

(XXX) Curtains soaked in (XXVII) chloride lime.

[                                 ]

XVIII. Pale Sea Mist 

XIX. Dusk Violet 

XX. Weathered Grey 

XXI. Pallid Taupe 

XXII. Blue-Green Slate 

XXIII. Warm Peach 

[                                   ]

Wealthy (XLII) MPs and

(XXXII) Businessmen, didn’t invest,

As (XXXI) “reason enough”

Was never uttered by them,

After all, it was

Just the (XXXVI) poor that got the worst

Of it, until that

(XXIII) Summer of ’58, when

Both (XXVI) exploiters and

(XXXIII) Exploitees walked pinching their

Sweating (XXIX) nostrils tight.

[                                   ]

XXIV. Rustic Clay 

XXV. Darkened Verdant from a Distance 

XXVI. Bronze Gold 

XXVII. Milky Gray, Chalky Green, and Pale Beige Gray 

XXVIII. Sky Blue 

XXIX. Grape Purple

[                                      ]

‘Twas (XLV) Bazalgette, the (XXVIII) savior,

Who drew up the (XLIII) plans,

More than 1,100

(XXIV) Miles of (XL) brick (V) sewers,

Various immense (XXXV) stations

Meant to push the (XXXVIII) waste

Through, and he designed it all

Larger than need be

At the (XIX) time, to account for

The (XXXVII) population

That was growing fast and would

Surely continue.

[                                     ]

XXX. Rose Pink, Crimson, Sage Green, Grayish-Green, Slight Hazelwood Chamois 

XXXI. Soft Silver 

XXXII. Midnight Navy 

XXXIII. Blood Red 

XXXIV. Smoky Quartz 

XXXV. Gunmetal Blue 

[                                      ]

And though the man’s (XLI) name has no

Doubt been forgotten,

Unlike the sensational

(XLIV) Events that pepper

An (XLVIII) empire’s (XXXIV) history.

[                                     ]

XXXVI. Dusty Taupe 

XXXVII. Cool Mint Green 

XXXVIII. Olive Drab 

XXXIX. Moss Green 

XL. Clay Red 

XLI. Soft Linen 

[                                    ]

Such (XLVII) innovation

Backed by (XLIX) wallets finally

Pried open with a

(XLVI) Situation that even

They could no longer

Ignore, proved to show

Just what can be achieved when

The whole (XXXIX) world smells like (I) sxxt.

[             ]

XLII. Oxford Blue 

XLIII. Graphite Gray 

XLIV. Marigold Yellow 

XLV. Regal Purple 

XLVI. Amber Yellow 

XLVII. Vibrant Cyan 

XLVIII. Imperial Gold 

XLIX. Emerald Green