Poetry - James Weldon Johnson (moboreader .TXT) đ
- Author: James Weldon Johnson
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De question fuâ discussion was, âWho is de biggesâ man?â
Dey âpinted ole Jedge Owl to decide;
He polished up his spectacles anâ put âem on his nose,
Anâ to the question slowly he replied:
âBrer Wolf am mighty cunninâ,
Brer Fox am mighty sly,
Brer Terrapin anâ âPossumâ âkinder small;
Brer Lionâs mighty vicious,
Brer Bâar heâs sorter âspicious,
Brer Rabbit, youâs de cutesâ of âem all.â
Dis caused a great confusion âmongst de animals,
Evây critter claimed dat he had won de prize;
Dey âsputed anâ dey argâed, dey growled anâ dey roared,
Den putty soon de dusâ begin to rise.
Brer Rabbit he jesâ stood aside anâ urged âem on to fight.
Brer Lion he mosâ tore Brer Bâar in two;
Wâen dey was all so tiahd dat dey couldnât catch der bref
Brer Rabbit he jesâ grabbed de prize anâ flew.
Brer Wolf am mighty cunninâ,
Brer Fox am mighty sly,
Brer Terrapin anâ Possumâ âkinder small;
Brer Lionâs mighty vicious,
Brer Bâar heâs sorter âspicious,
Brer Rabbit, youâs de cutesâ of âem all.
Look heah! âSplain to me de reason
Why you said to Squire Lee,
Der wuz twelve ole chicken thieves
In dis heah town, includinâ me.
Ef he tole you dat, my brudder,
He said sumpân dat warnât true;
Wâat I said wuz dis, dat der wuz
Twelve, widout includinâ you.
Oh!â ââ âŠâ!â â
De Little Pickaninnyâs Gone to SleepCuddle down, ma honey, in yoâ bed,
Go to sleep anâ resâ yoâ little head,
Been a-kind oâ ailinâ all de day?
Didnât have no sperit fuâ to play?
Never minâ; to-morrer, wâen you wek,
Daddyâs gwine to ride you on his bek,
âRounâ anâ rounâ de cabin floâ so fasââ â
Der! Heâs closed his little eyes at lasâ.
De little pickaninnyâs gone to sleep,
Cuddled in his trundle bed so tiny,
De little pickaninnyâs gone to sleep,
Closed his little eyes so bright anâ shiny.
Hush! anâ wâen you walk across de floâ
Step across it very sofâ anâ slow.
De shadders all arounâ begin to creep,
De little pickaninnyâs gone to sleep.
Mandy, wâatâs de matter wid dat chile?
Keeps a-sighinâ evây little wâile;
Seems to me I heayhd him sorter groan,
Lord! his little hanâs am colâ as stone!
Wâatâs dat far-off light datâs in his eyes?
Datâs a light deyâs borrowâd fâom de skies;
Folâ his little hanâs across his breasâ,
Let de little pickaninny resâ.
Look heah! Is I evah tole you âbout de curious way I won
Anna Liza? Say, I nevah? Well heahâs how de thing wuz done.
Lize, you know, wuz mighty purtyâ âdatâs been forty yeahs agoâ â
âN âcos to look at her dis minit, you mightân spose dat it wuz so.
She wuz jes de greatesâ âtraction in de county, ân bless de lamâ!
Eveh darkey wuz a-coâtin, but it lay âtwix me anâ Sam.
You know Sam. We both wuz wukinâ on de ole John Tompkinâs place.
âN evehbody wuz a-watchinâ tâsee whoâs gwine to win de race.
Hee! hee! hee! Now you musâ raley âscuse me fuâ dis snickering,
But I jes canât heâp fâom laffinâ eveh time I tells dis thing.
Ez I wuz a-sayinâ, me anâ Sam wuked daily side by side,
He a-studyinâ, me a-studyinâ, how to win Lize fuâ a bride.
Well, de race was kinder equal, Lize wuz sorter on de fence;
Sam he had de mostes dollars, anâ I had de mostes sense.
Things dey run along âbout eben tel der come Big Meetinâ day;
Sam den thought, to win Miss Liza, he had founâ de shoest way.
Anâ you talk about big meetinâs! None been like it âfore nor sence;
Der wuz sich a crowd oâ people dat we had to put up tents.
Der wuz preachers fâom de Easâ, anâ âder wuz preachers fâom de Wesâ;
Folks had kilt mosâ eveh chicken, anâ wuz fatteninâ up de resâ.
Gals had all got new wâite dresses, anâ bought ribbens fuâ der hair,
Fixinâ fuâ de openinâ Sunday, prayinâ dat de dayâd be fair.
Dat de Reverenâ Jasper Jones of Mount Moriah, it wuz âlowâd,
Wuz to preach de openinâ sermon; so you know der wuz a crowd.
Fuâ dat man wuz sho a preacher; had a voice jes like a bull;
So der ainât no use in sayinâ dat de meetinâ house wuz full.
Folks wuz der fâom Big Pine Hollow, some come âway fâom Muddy Creek,
Some come jes to stay fuâ Sunday, but de crowd stayâd thoo de week.
Some come ridinâ in top-buggies wid de wâeels all painted red,
Pulled by mules dat run like rabbits, each one tryinâ to git ahead.
Othah poârer folks come drivinâ mules dat leaned up âginst de shafâ,
Hitched to broke-down, creaky wagons dat looked like deyâd drap in half.
But de biggesâ crowd come walkinâ, wid der new shoes on der backs;
âScuse wuz dat dey couldnât weah em âcause de heels wuz full oâ tacks.
Fact is, itâs a job for Job, a-trudginâ in de sun anâ heat,
Down a long anâ dusty clay road wid yoâ shoes packed full oâ feet.
âCose dey stopt anâ put dem shoes on wâen dey got mosâ to de doâ;
Den dey had to grin anâ bear it; dat tuk good religion sho.
But I mosâ forgot ma storyâ âwell at lasâ dat Sunday came
And it seemed dat evehbody, blinâ anâ deef, anâ halt anâ lame,
Wuz out in de grove a-waitinâ fuâ de meetinâ to begin;
Ef dat crowd had got converted âtwould a been de end oâ sin.
Lize wuz der in all her glory, purty ez a big sunflowah,
I kin âmember how she looked jes same ez âtwuz dis veây houah.
But to make ma story shorter, wâile we wuz a-waitinâ der,
Down de road we spied a cloud oâ dusâ dat filled up all de air.
Anâ ez we kepâ on a-lookinâ, out fâom âmongst dat veây cloud,
Sam, on Marse Johnâs big mule, Caesar, rode right slam up in de crowd.
You jes oughtah seed dat darkey, âclar I like tah loss ma bref;
Fuâ to use a common âspression, he wuz âbout nigh dressed to def.
He had slipped to town dat Satâday, didnât let nobody know,
Anâ had carâyd all his cash anâ lef it in de dry goods stoâ.
He had on a branâ new suit oâ stoâ-bought cloâes, a high plug hat;
He looked âzactly like a genâman, tainât no use dânyinâ dat.
Wâen he got down off dat mule anâ bowed to Liza I
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