Page:Southern Life in Southern Literature.djvu/468

450 A PLANTATION DITTY De gray owl sing f um de chimbly top:

"Who who is you-oo?" En I say: "Good Lawd, hit s des po me, En I ain t quite ready fer de Jasper Sea; I m po en sinful, en you lowed I d be; Oh, wait, good Lawd, twell ter-morror." De gray owl sing fum de cypress tree:

"Who who is you-oo?" En I say: "Good Lawd, if you look you'll see Hit ain t nobody but des po me, En I like ter stay twell my time is free; Oh, wait, good Lawd, twell ter-morror."

THE GRAVEYARD RABBIT

In the white moonlight, where the willow waves, He halfway gallops among the graves A tiny ghost in the gloom and gleam, Content to dwell where dead men dream. But wary still! For they plot him ill; For the graveyard rabbit hath a charm (May God defend us!) to shield from harm. Over the shimmering slab he goes Every grave in the dark he knows; But his nest is hidden from human eye Where headstones broken on old graves lie.