Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, EEN COURT, by THOMAS AUGUSTINE DALY


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

EEN COURT, by                    
First Line: I was een court wan day las' week
Last Line: A man dat was so kind!
Alternate Author Name(s): Daly, T. A.
Subject(s): Judges


I WAS een court wan day las' week,
An' eet was strange to me.
I like eet not; steell, I would speak
Of som'theeng dere I see.
To you, dat know da court so wal,
I s'pose eet's notheeng new,
But you are kind, so lat me tal
Dees leetla theeng to you:

Da "Judge" -- I theenk dey call heem so --
Da bossa for da place,
He's fine, beeg, han'som' man, an' O!
Sooch kindness een da face.
Wal, soon dey breeng a pris'ner dere,
A leetla boy; so small
Dat teell dey stand heem on a chair
I did not see at all!
Poor leetla keed, I s'pose he might
Be tan year old or less;
I nevva see sooch sorry sight,
Sooch peecture of deestress.

"Dees ees a verra badda child,"
Ees say da bigga cop
Dat hold hees arm; "he's runna wild,
An' so I tak' heem up."
You theenk so smalla keed like dat
Would cry, for be so scare';
But no, he tweest hees ragged hat
An' justa nevva care.
Den speaks da Judge, an' O! so sweet,
Like music ees hees voice.
He tals heem how da ceety street
Ees notta place for boys.
At first da boy looks roun' da place,
So like he nevva heard,
But soon he watch da Judge's face
An' dreenks een evra word.
"My child, would you not like to go
Where dere ees always food,
A gooda home, where you may grow
For be da man you should?"
Da boy mak's swallers een hees throat
As eef he try to speak,
But no wan near could hear a note,
Hees voice eet was so weak.

"Eh? W'at was dat?" da Judge he said.
"W'at deed you say, my dear?"
An' den he leaned hees han'som' head
Down close to heem to hear.
I s'pose da boy's so strange, so wild,
He deed not ondrastand;
He only knew dat Judge so mild
Was sure to be hees frand.
An' so hees skeenny arms reached out --
He deed not try to speak --
But, leeftin' up hees leetla mout'
He keessed heem on da cheek!

O! hal, my frand, don't be ashame'
For w'at ees een your eye!
Weeth me, weeth all, eet was da same,
We could not halp but cry;
Not tears for dat we was so sad,
But for da joy to find
A leetla boy dat was so glad,
A man dat was so kind!





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