[BobC]

I think you need to look at using "direction" -

This looks like it will get near to what you are looking for :

<p class= "poem"> A bunch of the boys were whooping it up in the Malamute Saloon </p>
<p class= "poem">  The kid that handled the music box was hitting a ragtime tune </p>
 <p class= "poem">Back of the bar, in a solo game, sat Dangerous Dan McGrew,</p>
<p class= "poem">And watching his luck was his light-o'-love, the lady that's known as Lou.</p>

with the following css style:

.poem {
  text-align: justify;
  direction : rtl;
  text-indent: 0;
}

This though gets messy handling the second comma on the third line.

BobC