Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, A DOS'T O' BLUES, by JAMES WHITCOMB RILEY


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A DOS'T O' BLUES, by                 Poet Analysis     Poet's Biography
First Line: I got no patience with blues at all!
Last Line: He's the same old color yit!
Alternate Author Name(s): Johnson Of Boone, Benj. F.
Subject(s): Blues (mood); Music & Musicians; Night; Seasons; Bedtime


I GOT no patience with blues at all!
And I ust to kind o' talk
Ag'inst 'em, and claim, tel along last Fall,
They wuz none in the fambly stock;
But a nephew of mine, from Eelinoy,
That visitud us last year,
He kind o' convinct me differunt
Whilse he wuz a-stayin' here.

From ev'ry-which-way that blues is from,
They'd pester him ev'ry-ways;
They'd come to him in the night, and come
On Sund'ys, and rainy days;
They'd tackle him in corn-plantin' time,
And in harvest, and airly Fall, --
But a dos't o' blues in the Winter-time,
He 'lowed, wuz the worst of all!

Said "All diseases that ever he had --
The mumps, er the rhumatiz --
Er ev'ry-other-day-aigger -- bad
As ever the blame thing is! --
Er a cyarbuncle, say, on the back of his neck,
Er a felon on his thumb, --
But you keep the blues away from him,
And all o' the rest could come!"

And he'd moan, "They's nary a leaf below!
Ner a spear o' grass in sight!
And the whole wood-pile's clean under snow!
And the days is dark as night!
You can't go out -- ner you can't stay in --
Lay down -- stand up -- ner set!"
And a tetch o' regular tyfoid-blues
Would double him jes' clean shet!

I writ his parunts a postal-kyard
He could stay tel Spring-time come;
And Aprile -- first, as I rickollect --
Wuz the day we shipped him home!
Most o' his relatives, sence then,
Has eether give up, er quit,
Er jes' died off; but I understand
He's the same old color yit!





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