Page:The book of American negro poetry.djvu/66

14

Dey is times in life when Nature
 * Seems to slip a cog an' go,

Jes' a-rattlin' down creation,
 * Lak an ocean's overflow;

When de worl' jes' stahts a-spinnin'
 * Lak a picaninny's top,

An' yo' cup o' joy is brimmin'
 * 'Twell it seems about to slop,

An' you feel jes' lak a racah,
 * Dat is trainin' fu' to trot—

When yo' mammy says de blessin'
 * An' de co'n pone's hot.

When you set down at de table.
 * Kin' o' weary lak an' sad.

An' you'se jes' a little tiahed
 * An' purhaps a little mad;

How yo' gloom tu'ns into gladness,
 * How yo' joy drives out de doubt

When de oven do' is opened,
 * An' de smell comes po'in' out;

Why, de 'lectric light o' Heaven
 * Seems to settle on de spot,

When yo' mammy says de blessin'
 * An' de co'n pone's hot.

When de cabbage pot is steamin'
 * An' de bacon good an' fat,