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Plantation echoes

Chapter 12: WHEN DE SUMMAH’S DUN CUM.
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About This Book

A short collection of poems written in a period phonetic dialect that evokes rural plantation life and folk-song rhythms. The pieces range from playful and humorous to plaintive and reflective, depicting work, home, music, seasonal change, and communal gatherings through repetition, colloquial idiom, and musical cadence. Many poems adopt a performative voice and narrative vignette form to capture local speech and sentiment. Several passages employ slang and stereotyped language rooted in their historical moment, which modern readers may find offensive.

WHEN DE SUMMAH’S DUN CUM.

When de wintah’s dun gone
An’ de summah’s dun cum,
An’ de birds begin dey wahble
An’ de bees begin dey hum,
An’ de hills, de fields, de meadows
Wid de verdure all am green,
An’ de heaben’s panorama
Am er mos’ enchantin’ scene,
Den er niggah kin sing!
Den er niggah kin hum!
Kaze de wintah’s dun gone,
An’ de summah’s dun cum!
When de vines am climin’,
Spreadin’ beauty on de run,
An’ de cullahs o’ de lan’scape
An’ de sky dey blen’ ez one,
An’ de flowahs ez dey’s buddin’
An’ er blossom’ an’ er bloom,
An’ de breezes fan dey petals
Koch dey sweetes’ smellin’ ’fume,
How yo’ soul inspahs!
How yo’ hea’t does tickle!
Den er niggah am happy
Ef he haben’ got er nickel!
When de craps am wavin’
An’ de tassel’s on de co’n,
An’ de apples am er drapin’
An’ de sweepahtayters born,
An’ de cabbage am er headin’,
Swellin’ lak dey got de mumps,
An’ de passnups am er peepin’
Winkin’ at yo’ hine de stumps,
How er niggah kin whis’le!
How his soul does ’joice!
’Kaze it’s time fo’ de millun
An’ it’s time fo’ de squash!