A Southern Lullaby
Virna Sheard 1862 (Cobourg) – 1943 ( Toronto)
Little honey baby, shet yo' eyes up tight; -
(Shadow-man is comin' from de moon!) -
You's as sweet as roses if dey is so pink an white;
(Shadow-man '11 get here mighty soon.)
Little honey baby, keep yo' footses still! -
(Rocky-bye, oh, rocky, rocky-bye!)
Hush yo' now, an listen to dat lonesome whippo'-will;
Don't yo' fix yo' lip an start to cry.
Little honey baby, stop dat winkin' quick!;
(Hear de hoot-owl in de cotton-wood!)
Yess - I sees yo' eyes adoin' dat dere triflin' trick -
(He gets chillun if dey isn't good.)
Little honey baby, what yo' think yo' see? -
(Sister keep on climbin' to de sky - )
Dat's a June bug - it aint got no stinger, lak a bee -
(Reach de glory city by an by.)
Little honey baby, what yo' skeery at? -
(Go down, Moses - down to Phar-e-oh,) -
No - dat isn't nuffin but a furry fly-round bat; -
(Say, he'd betta let dose people go.)
Little honey baby, yo' is all ma own, -
Deed yo' is. - Yes, - dat's a fia-fly; -
If I didn't hab yo' - reckon I'd be all alone;
(Rocky-bye - oh, rocky, rocky-bye.)
Little honey baby, shet yo' eyes up tight; -
(Shadow man is comin' from de moon,)
You's as sweet as roses, if dey is so pink and white;
(Shadow-man '11 get here mighty soon.)
The lines in brackets are supposed to be sung or chanted.
The Southern "Mammy" seldom sang a song through, but interladed it with comments. - V.S.
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Submitted on August 03, 2020
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:28 min read
- 4 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | AbaB cdcd efef gdgd hihi jdjd AbaB xx |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic hexameter |
Characters | 1,344 |
Words | 284 |
Stanzas | 8 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 2 |
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"A Southern Lullaby" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 8 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/56884/a-southern-lullaby>.
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