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Plantation echoes

Chapter 33: EGGS! EGGS!! EGGS!!!
By Elliott Blaine Henderson
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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.

EGGS! EGGS!! EGGS!!!

When I ’fleck o’ Eastah cum,
Eggs! eggs!! eggs!!!
Gits mah whol’ soul all er hum.
Eggs! eggs!! eggs!!!
When de chickens flopp dey wings,
Roostah cro’, de pullets sings,
Gib me ’bove all uddah things—
Eggs! eggs!! eggs!!!
When de little chicks er creep,
Eggs! eggs!! eggs!!!
Run kerfrolic peep! peep! peep!!
Eggs! eggs!! eggs!!!
Appetite gits sort impressed,
Wood go good, roas’ chicken breas’,
Still goes beddah, nebahless.
Eggs! eggs!! eggs!!!
When eroun’ de ol’ fiah place
Eggs! eggs!! eggs!!!
Eggs look yo’ squah in de face,
Eggs! eggs!! eggs!!!
Git ’em fryin’ in de pan,
Soun’ lak music o’ de ban’,
Chillun? Whee! But hain’t dey gran’.
Eggs! eggs!! eggs!!!
Eat ’em poach ’er eat ’em bile,
Eggs! eggs!! eggs!!!
Make yo’ hit yo’ granny, chile.
Eggs! eggs!! eggs!!!
When yo’ eat ’em scramble, son,
Feel dat yo’ kood lif er ton,
Er brack bar yo’ kood out run.
Eggs! eggs!! eggs!!!