EF you's only got de powah fe' to blow a little whistle, Keep ermong de people wid de whistles. Ef you don't, you'll fin' out sho'tly dat you's th'owed yo' fines' feelin' In a place dat's all a bed o' thistles. 'Tain't no use a-goin' now, ez sho's you bo'n, A-squeakin' of yo' whistle 'g'inst a gread big ho'n. Ef you ain't got but a teenchy bit o' victuals on de table, Whut' de use a-claimin' hit's a feas'? Fe' de folks is mighty 'spicious, an' dey's ap' to come apeerin', Lookin' fe' de scraps you lef' at leas'. W'en de meal's a-hidin' f'om de meal-bin's top, You needn't talk to hide it; ef you sta'ts, des stop. Ef yo' min' kin only carry half a pint o' common idees, Don' go roun' a-sayin' hit's a bar'l; 'Ca'se de people gwine to test you, an' dey'll fin' out you's a-lyin', Den dey'll twis' yo' sayin's in a snarl. Wuss t'ing in de country dat I evah hyahed -- A crow dot sat a-squawkin', "I's a mockin'-bird." | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE HOUSE WITH NOBODY IN IT by ALFRED JOYCE KILMER THE LAY OF THE LOVELORN; PARODY OF TENNYSON'S 'LOCKSLEY HALL' by THEODORE MARTIN SUMMER. THE SECOND PASTORAL, OR ALEXIS by ALEXANDER POPE IN PROGRESS by CHRISTINA GEORGINA ROSSETTI LINES WRITTEN ON THE DEATH OF MRS. HEMANS by MARIA ABDY |