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Plantation echoes

Chapter 48: A TALE O’ WOE.
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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.

A TALE O’ WOE.

Manny am de battle
Dahky’s got to fight.
Ebbry tarn he’s makin’
Trouble’s dah in sight.
Ef he’s got de ’liggun
Puffec’ to de spot,
Hard to keep fum cussin’
Losin’ all he’s got.
White fo’ks got de money,
White fo’ks got de lan’,
Doan’ wan’ a po’ dahky
Hab er place to stan’.
Ef dey miss er chicken
Ef dey miss er goose,
Fus’ thing grab er dahky
Fo’ de calerboose.
Long ez he’s er hoein’,
Diggin’ in de san’,
Bress yo’ soul, say, mistah,
He am jes’ de man.
Let him git de money
Cumin’ mos’ too fas’,
White fo’ks git to skeemin’,
Say it mussen’ las’.