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Plantation echoes cover

Plantation echoes

Chapter 6: GOOD BYE, HONEY—GOOD BYE.
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.

GOOD BYE, HONEY—GOOD BYE.

Gwine to leeb dis dear ol’ place,
Good bye, honey; good bye!
Time’s er flyin’, I mus’ make has’e,
Good bye, honey; good bye!
Hate to go, but I kain’t say no,
It gives mah hea’t er pang o’ woe,
Yo’ all’s mah fren’, not one’s mah foe,
Good bye, honey; good bye!
Sistah Jane, an’ uncle Joe?
Good bye, honey; good bye!
I hope we’ll see us all sum mo’,
Good bye, honey; good bye!
We’s gittin’ ol’, we’s gittin’ gray,
Ah days am dun’ fo’ makin’ hay,
Ah steps cum slo’ we’s wastin’ ’way,
Good bye, honey; good bye!
We’s had good times on dis ol’ place,
Good bye, honey; good bye!
We’s frollic’d in de possum chase,
Good bye, honey; good bye!
We’s picked de cotton, hoed de co’n,
We’s picked de berries spite o’ thorns,
We’s wocked at night, we’s wocked at morn,
Good bye, honey; good bye!
Hain’t dat Miss Linndy, obeah dah?
Good bye, honey; good bye!
Sho’ it am; well, I declah!
Good bye, honey; good bye!
Cum an’ shake de ol’ man’s han’,
Gwine to leeb ol’ massa’s lan’
’Deed, Miss Linndy, yo’ look gran’,
Good bye, honey; good bye!
Rastus? little Rastus, chile,
Good bye, honey; good bye!
Look ee dah, jes’ see him smile,
Good bye, honey; good bye!
Jes’ ez natshul ez his paw,
De bes’ chile dat I ebbah saw,
Got de mannahs ub his maw,
Good bye, honey; good bye!
Whah is Massa, is he ’roun’?
Good bye, honey; good bye!
’Pears’ I koch his footstep soun’,
Good bye, honey; good bye!
I ’fess it’s hard to leeb him now,
To say good bye, I doan’ kno’ how,
I’ll shake his han’, jes’ make er bow,
Good bye, honey; good bye!
Mockin’ bird up in de tree?
Good bye, honey; good bye!
Yo’s sung er manny day to me.
Good bye, honey; good bye!
Er manny day dis hea’t o’ mine
Yo’s cheered it wid yo’ song divine,
An’ made de sunlight brighter shine,
Good bye, honey; good bye!