Page:Claude McKay Constab Ballads.djvu/52



aweary weary standin’, wid me heart chock-full o’ grief,

An’ a great lump in me bosom, an’ A canna’ get relief:

Walkin’ up an’ do’n de road, I see a whoppin’ Syrian-boy,

An’ I grudge him, yes I grudge him for his heart so full o’ joy.

’Twas a hot, hot day o’ brain-work, an’ me heart was sick an’ sad,

As I staggered ’long de car-line, but de boy’s cheek made me glad:

Wid his han’s dem set akimbo in a mannish sort o’ way,

Said he “Do wha’ it you like, but A wi’ wuk no mo’ te-day.”

An’ de Syrian grew astonished as he looked upon his load,

Which de whoppin’ big-tree boy had tumbled in de middle road:

He was boun’ fe Lawrence Tavern, business called him dere to-night,

An’ he begged his ole-time carrier jes’ to help him out his plight.