TO S. NEAL HALLOCK.
Sing dat song once mo’!
Miss Mandy.
Jes’ once mo’, jes’ ef’ yo’ please.
It sounds ez sweet
Ez angel whispers
An’ de song birds ‘mong de trees.
It kyars me back!-way back yonder!
Way down souf!
Whah we tromp’d froo de
Cotton fields,
An’ when ah hearts was sad,
We sung dat chune,
To make ah souls glad!
Way down soul!
Yo’ know nuffin’ bout dem days,
Miss Mandy-
Dem was befo’ yo’ time.
‘Sides yo’s bin rar’d
In er diffun’ clime!
Yo’ nebbah had to work
Fum de fus’ horn’ blo’
Lak we uster hab to hoe
Till de sun sink’d lo’,
Way down souf!
But we had good times
Miss Mandy!
Some good ol’ times fo’ sho’!
We didn’ let ’em know!
Yo’ bet wees mighty kyarful
When we had ah dance an’ feas’,
Dat dey didn’ git an’ inklin’
Ner er pinter in de leas’.
When ah hyar dat chune
Miss Mandy,
Ah wants to step erbout
An’ do jes’ lak de ol’ fo’ks
When dey uster sing an’ shout,
Way down souf!
Ah kin see ’em now!
Ez dey raised dey voice to sing
An’ sot de ol’ brack shanty
In one great big ring,
Way down souf!
Dey’d fill up wiff de gospel
At de soun’ ob dat ol’ chune,
An’ raise up Paul an’ Lazarus
When dey soul got in er boon,
Way down souf!
But dem day’s done gone
Miss Mandy.
Dey’s gone lak er dream!
An’ de ol’ fo’ks done ‘cross’d de stream
But doh dey’s gone an’ ah’s lef’ erlone,
An’ ol’ age done creep’d
In deez ol’ bones,
Dey’s er hankerin’ feelin’
Keeps er dribein’ me back!
Way down souf!
When er dahky is ol’
An’ his step comes slo’,
An’ he totters lak er. reed,
When de sol’ winns blo’,
An’ all his ties ob earl am dead,
An’ fo’ks all strange
Whah ebber he tread,
It’s de ol’ time chune
Wiff er clah keen knack,
Dat makes yo’ feel new,
Seems yo’ youth comes back,
Way down souf!
(Elliott Blaine Henderson)
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Based on Topics: Sadness Poems, Time Poems, Soul Poems, Nature Poems, Dreams PoemsBased on Keywords: fus, lef, chune, erbout, lak, mandy, nuffin, hab, befo, leas, totters