Page:Claude McKay Constab Ballads.djvu/75



never ashamed o’ de soil,

So you needn’t remind me of it;

I was born midst de moil an’ de toil,

An’ I’ll never despise it a bit.

“Sen’ me back to de cutliss an’ hoe!”

I don’t mind, Sir, a wud dat you say,

For little, it seems, you do know

Of de thing dat you sneer at to-day.

If I’d followed a peasant’s career,

I would now be a happier lad;

You would not be abusing me here,

An’ mekin’ me sorry an’ sad.

Fool! I hated my precious birthright,

Scornin’ what made my father a man;

Now I grope in de pitchy dark night,

Hate de day when me poo’ life began.

To de loved country life I’ll return,

I don’t mind at all, Sir, if you smile;

As a peasant my livin’ I’ll earn,

An’ a labourer’s life is worth while.