Plantation echoes : $b a collection of original Negro dialect poemsHenderson, Elliott Blaine
General
Plantation echoes : $b a collection of original Negro dialect poems
Henderson, Elliott Blaine
American poetry -- African American authors; Dialect poetry, American
The night is still!
The moon is low!
Not e’en a zephyr
Seems to blow.
The coon with sack
Clutched in his hand,
Moves silently
Across the land.
The chicken gives
Another squawk!
The coon has got her
Like a hawk.
The moon now breaks
Forth into light,
The coon and chicken’s
Out of sight.
SEEMS DEY’S NO PLACE.
Well er coon kin go to kollege
Git his head chucked full o’ knowledge,
Till he knows ez much ez Solomon de wise.
He kin study an’ summize,
Count de stars up in de skies,
Seems dey’s no place
Fo’ de eddeekayted coon.
Tawk erbout yo’ eddeekayshun
Gittin’ in de cullahd nayshun,
Gittin’ “lighten” in de head an’ sich ez dat,
Yo’ kin larn sah, till yo’ hat
On yo’ head woan’ fit exzac’,
Seems dey’s no place
Fo’ de eddeekayted coon.
Eddeekayshun am all right
Ef er coon kin git er sight
’Stead o’ makin’ bread an’ buttah by de hoe,
He kood entah any do’
Whah he’s qualified to go.
Seems dey’s no place
Fo’ de eddeekayted coon.
He doan’ allus want to hoe,
He wood like er little sho,
Fo’ to git er little sweetness out o’ life;
He has had er worl’ o’ strife,
Allus struck by trouble’s knife.
Seems dey’s no place
Fo’ de eddeekayted coon.
All de coons kin cut dey pranks
Fo’ to git into de banks,
Wid de white fo’ks fo’ to handle wid dey cash
Dat wood sorter spile de hash,
Make er fraycus an’ er clash.
Seems dey’s no place
Fo’ de eddeekayted coon.
All de coons kin go to Yale,
Larn Greek, Latin, by de bale,
Larn to numbah all de hyahs up in dey head;
Dey may read dis thing wid dread,
Nufin’ else kin dey be said.
Seems dey’s no place
Fo’ de eddeekayted coon.
Ez I saunter ’roun’ de town,
An’ I skim mah eyes eroun’,
Whah de white fo’ks am in business ebbry where,
Yo’ kain’t find er coon in dare
Wid de white fo’ks sellin’ ware.
Seems dey’s no place
Fo’ de eddeekayted coon.
GOOD BYE, HONEY—GOOD BYE.
Gwine to leeb dis dear ol’ place,
Good bye, honey; good bye!
Time’s er flyin’, I mus’ make has’e,
Good bye, honey; good bye!
Hate to go, but I kain’t say no,
It gives mah hea’t er pang o’ woe,
Yo’ all’s mah fren’, not one’s mah foe,
Good bye, honey; good bye!
Sistah Jane, an’ uncle Joe?
Good bye, honey; good bye!
I hope we’ll see us all sum mo’,
Good bye, honey; good bye!
We’s gittin’ ol’, we’s gittin’ gray,
Ah days am dun’ fo’ makin’ hay,
Ah steps cum slo’ we’s wastin’ ’way,
Good bye, honey; good bye!
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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