A/N: written for a creative writing class; we were told to write a ballad. I chose Jack the Ripper as subject matter because it's always interesting to write about a slightly unbalanced killer. I researched the details of his victims and decided to stick with the Canonical Five (5 of the 11 or so dead girls lying around that it is generally agreed were definitely victims of the Ripper. There's some debate about the others.)

Jack be nimble, Jack be quick, Jack be stealthy and spry,
Jack has a taste for tainted meat,
With a knife in his pocket and a glint in his eyes,
Silent as shadows through Whitechapel streets.

Polly was spirited, handsome and bold,
Her hair all caught up in a pretty new bonnet,
But the damp August street was bitterly cold,
As Jack took out her entrails and laid them upon it.

Poor Annie, determined to put up a fight,
Her struggles grew weak as she spluttered and choked.
Before Jack stole away, he took out his knife,
And left a necklace of blood at her throat.

Liz was bleeding to death from her wounds,
When a pony and cart took Jack by surprise.
He slipped into the shadows, leaving Liz on the ground
Staring at Death with her milky white eyes.

Jack wandered the streets 'til he came upon Kate,
In a desperate rage, he lashed out and struck her.
When his night's work was done, the hour was late,
But her kidney made excellent supper.

Lovely young Mary took him to bed,
And kissed him, her dainty lips parted.
Jack silenced her screams and smiled as she bled.
Cradling her heart to his chest, he departed.

Jack be nimble, Jack be quick, Jack be cunning and wise,
The man who not even Time forgot,
The man with the knife and the glint in his eyes,
The killer who was never caught.