Classic and Contemporary Poetry
ANSWER TO DUNBAR'S 'AFTER A VISIT', by JOSEPH SEAMON COTTER SR. First Line: So, you be'n to ole kentucky Last Line: Of her hospitality. Subject(s): Dunbar, Paul Laurence (1872-1906); Kentucky | ||||||||
So, you be'n to ole Kentucky, An' you want to go ag'in? Well, Kentucky'll doff her kerchief An' politely ask you in. An' she'll loosen from her girdle What perhaps you didn't see -- Keys that fit the other cupboards Of her hospitality. Not that she's inclined to hold back With the good, and give the worst; But, you know, in all fair dealin', What is first must be the first. So, when she takes key the second An' gives it a twist er two (Maybe I ought not to say it) It'll most nigh startle you. An' then keys the third and fourth, sir, (Not to speak of all the rest) Wouldn't stop at crackin' buttons, They'd jest smash that Sunday vest. And your happiness would find, sir, A momentum then and there That would carry it a-sweepin' Through the stronghold of despair. Now, the grippin' o' the hand, sir, An' the welcome that you say Was so firm an' true an' all that Has a kind o' curious way. At the first it's sorter slow like, Till it forms a league with you, Then it makes a kind o' circuit That jest thrills you thro' an' thro'. But it may be I had better Not discuss this aftermath Fur it might stir up your feelings To the righteous point of wrath As you brood o'er what you lost, sir, By not stayin' with us longer. Ah, well, come to see us often, Ole Kentucky'll make you stronger. So, you be'n to ole Kentucky, An' you want to go ag'in? Well, Kentucky's standin' waitin' Jest to take you wholly in, An' she'll loosen her vast girdle So that you can fully see All the roots, fruits, leaves, an' branches Of her hospitality. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...AFTER A VISIT by PAUL LAURENCE DUNBAR MY OLD KENTUCKY HOME by STEPHEN COLLINS FOSTER KENTUCKY BELLE by CONSTANCE FENIMORE WOOLSON WAR-TIME IN THE MOUNTAINS by ANN COBB COURTING IN KENTUCKY by FLORENCE EVELYN PRATT A PEACE-HYMN OF THE REPUBLIC by JAMES WHITCOMB RILEY KENTUCKY PHILOSOPHY by HARRISON ROBERTSON ALGERNON CHARLES SWINBURNE by JOSEPH SEAMON COTTER SR. DR. BOOKER T. WASHINGTON TO THE NATIONAL NEGRO BUSINESS LEAGUE by JOSEPH SEAMON COTTER SR. |
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