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Plantation echoes

Chapter 24: GO SLEEP.
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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.

GO SLEEP.

Go sleep, li’l’ pickahninny!
Go sleep!
De boogahman koch yo’
Ef yo’ peep!
Go sleep!
He prowlin’ ’roun’
Sof’ ez er cat—
He kno’ whah
Li’l’ pickahninny’s at—
Go sleep!
Go sleep, li’l’ pickahninny!
Go sleep!
Still ez er mouse
When creepin’ keep—
Go sleep!
De boogahman
Am moighty peert!
He sly ol’ fox
Dat’s on de ’lert!
Go sleep!
Go sleep, li’l’ pickahninny!
Go sleep!
I hyeah de boogahman
Creep, creep creep!
Go sleep!
He kotch er hol’
An’ shake de do’—
An’ ope his mouf
An’ said wo’, wo’!
Go sleep!