WeRead Powered by ReaderPub
Plantation echoes cover

Plantation echoes

Chapter 16: GO ’WAY, MAH HONEY.
By Elliott Blaine Henderson
Open in WeRead

Explore more books like this:

Poetry

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.

GO ’WAY, MAH HONEY.

Gitin’ sortah ’ristercratic
Go ’way, mah honey!
Sistah Jane, de ol’ roommatic!
Go ’way, mah honey!
Th’ow’d erway her dress o’ mattin’!
Wearin’ silk an’ wearin’ satin’!
Right in style, de lates’ patte’n!
Go ’way, mah honey!
Wearin’ hoops, an’ got er bustle!
Go ’way, mah honey!
When she passed, Lawd, how dey rustle!
Go ’way, mah honey!
Umph! she stepped lak Queen o’ Sheeba.
Clah out dressed ol’ Sistah Feeba,
Hel’ her trail lak dat Miss Neeba!
Go ’way, mah honey!
High heel shoes, she’s wearin’, too!
Go ’way, mah honey!
Look to me dey’s numbah two!
Go ’way, mah honey!
Paten’ leddah wid er buckle!
Hot stuff, reglah honey suckle!
When she pass’d, oh how fo’ks chuckle!
Go ’way, mah honey!
Doan’ yo’ kno’ she had on powdah!
Go ’way, mah honey!
White fo’ks kooden’ looked mo’ loudah!
Go ’way, mah honey!
Had her hyah smoothed down wid tallow!
Bangs in front was short and shallow!
Gibb her face er p’culiar pallow!
Go ’way, mah honey!
Umph! she tried to tawk so proppah!
Go ’way, mah honey!
Spoke dem wurds dat was er whoppah!
Go ’way, mah honey!
See her primp her mouf and tickle!
Made her look so pow’ful fickle!
Bet she diden’ hab er nickel!
Go ’way, mah honey!
Scan’lous ’bout sum cullahd people!
Go ’way, mah honey!
Mattahs not how ol’ an’ feeble!
Go ’way, mah honey!
Git on sum new bibb an’ tuckah!
Dey’ll out step sah! ol’ Dan Tuckah!
Doan’ kyah ef dey’s er co’n shuckah!
Go ’way, mah honey!