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Plantation echoes

Chapter 17: BRER POSSUM DECLINES.
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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.

BRER POSSUM DECLINES.

Way in de tree
Sots ol’ Bruddah Possum!
Hey, dah; I see yo’
Bruddah Possum, hine de blossom!
Yo’ needn’ ac’ so timid,
Ner yo’ needen’ ac’ so shy,
Dey’s beddah, closeah frenship
Fo’ er possum, closeah nigh!
Hey, dah, Bruddah Possum,
Yo’ ac’in’ moighty ’trary;
Saunter down er minute!
Now, yo’ needen’ hab no worry,
Ner pusnul tooberayshuns.
An’ de sich, de lak er dat!
Cum down, yo’ needen’ boddah
What de bawkin’ dogs er at!
Look hyeah, Bruddah Possum,
Bleeb yo’ feelin’ kine o’ skeery!
Gittin’ tiad er coaxin’,
Makes me feel er little dreary!
Doan’ lak so much beggin’,
Ner I doan’ lak so much pleadin’,
’Speshly to mah mine,
When dey’s not er bit o’ needin’.
Hey, dah, Bruddah Possum,
Yo’ jes’ lak ol’ Bruddah Satan!
Think de odds er gin yo’,
An’ yo’ keep er fellah waitin’.
Well, it doesn’t mattah,
Ef yo’ ’sist on me er climein’,
Hol’ yo’ bref er minute!
’Kase hyeah cums up
Bruddah Highmen!