Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872-1906)
When de Co'n Pone's Hot
1Dey is times in life when Nature
2 Seems to slip a cog an' go,
3Jes' a-rattlin' down creation,
4 Lak an ocean's overflow;
5When de worl' jes' stahts a-spinnin'
7An' yo' cup o' joy is brimmin'
8 'Twell it seems about to slop,
9An' you feel jes' lak a racah,
10 Dat is trainin' fu' to trot--
11When yo' mammy says de blessin'
12 An' de co'n pone's hot.
13When you set down at de table,
14 Kin' o' weary lak an' sad,
15An' you 'se jes' a little tiahed
16 An' purhaps a little mad;
17How yo' gloom tu'ns into gladness,
18 How yo' joy drives out de doubt
19When de oven do' is opened,
20 An' de smell comes po'in' out;
21Why, de 'lectric light o' Heaven
22 Seems to settle on de spot,
23When yo' mammy says de blessin'
24 An' de co'n pone's hot.
25When de cabbage pot is steamin'
26 An' de bacon good an' fat,
27When de chittlins is a-sputter'n'
28 So's to show you whah dey's at;
29Tek away yo' sody biscuit,
30 Tek away yo' cake an' pie,
31Fu' de glory time is comin',
32 An' it's 'proachin' mighty nigh,
33An' you want to jump an' hollah,
34 Dough you know you'd bettah not,
35When yo' mammy says de blessin'
36 An' de co'n pone's hot.
37I have hyeahd a' lots o' sermons,
38 An' I've hyeahd o' lots o' prayers,
39An I've listened to some singin'
40 Dat has tuck me up de stairs
41Of de Glory-Lan' an' set me
42 Jes' below de Mastah's th'one,
43An' have lef' my hea't a-singin'
44 In a happy aftah tone;
45But dem wu'ds so sweetly murmured
46 Seem to tech de softes' spot,
47When my mammy says de blessin',
48 An' de co'n pone's hot.
Notes
6] picaninny: black child.
12] co'n pone: corn bread fried or baked, often made without eggs or milk.
27] chittlins: chitterlings, hogs' intestines.
29] sody biscuit: soda biscuit (made with sour milk or buttermilk).
Online text copyright © 2009, Ian Lancashire (the Department of English) and the University of Toronto.
Published by the Web Development Group, Information Technology Services, University of Toronto Libraries.
Original text: The Complete Poems of Paul Laurence Dunbar (New York: Dodd, Mead, and Co., 1913), Facsimile in The Collected Poetry of Paul Laurence Dunbar, ed. Joanne M. Braxton (Charlottesville and London: University Press of Virginia, 1993), pp. 57-58. PS 1556 AI 1993 Robarts Library.
First publication date:
1895
RPO poem editor: Ian Lancashire
RP edition: RPO 1998.
Recent editing: 4:2002/4/3*4:2002/4/3
Rhyme: abcbdefeghgh
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