Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, PIERRE LEBLANC, by WILLIAM HENRY DRUMMOND


Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

PIERRE LEBLANC, by                    
First Line: Ev'ry state upon de union, w'en dey write her up today
Last Line: An' wan is m'sieu pierre leblanc, de oder pere marquette.


(Dedicated to the Hon. Peter White)

EV'RY State upon de Union, w'en dey write her up to-day,
Have so many kin' of story not many understan';
But if you lissen me you can very quickly see
How it's easy t'ing remember de State of Michigan.
An' me I know it's true, 'cos ma fader tole me so,
How dat voyageur dey're callin' Pere Marquette
Come a-sailin' hees canoe, wit' de Injun from de Soo,
On de year so long ago dat I forget.

But wan t'ing I can say, w'en Marquette is reach de shore
W'ere w'at you call hees statue is stickin' up to-day,
Dere's a leetle French boy dere say, "Comment ca va, mon pere,
You been so long a-comin' I hope you're goin' to stay?"
An' he show heem safes' place w'ere he put hees birch canoe,
An' de way he talk an' boss de Injun man --
Wall, it's very easy see dat between you' se'f an' me,
Dat leetle feller's born to comman'.

An' Marquette he's moche surprise at de smart boy he has got,
W'ere he come from, w'at's hees name, an' ev'ryt'ing;
But de boy he go ahead feexin' up de camp an' bed,
For he alway treat hees frien' jus' lak de King.
Marquette he den fin' out w'at de leetle feller know,
An' w'at he never see, an' all de Grosse Point law;
How it's mixit up so moche ev'rybody's scare to touch,
An' de nam' he call hese'f is Pierre Leblanc.

Wall, Marquette he's not a fool, so he's sayin' "Au revoir,"
For leetle Pierre Leblanc's too wide awake
No chance discoveree, so far as he can see,
Less he fin' some newer place upon de lak'.
So dere he stay upon de shore, de leetle Pierre,
An' buil' de fines' log house he can get;
Purty soon he have a town on de place he settle down,
An' call it for hees frien' M'sieu Marquette.

But de folk he's bringin' dere fin' it hard w'en winter come
An' ev'ry place is pilin' wit' de snow;
Den who is volunteer bring de letter 'way up here,
From de contree lyin' off dere down below?
Was it feller six foot high is on de job,
Carry letter all de way from Canadaw,
Wit' hees fourteen-dog-traineau, bangin' t'roo de ice an' snow?
No siree! It's only leetle Pierre Leblanc.

But de way he treat hees dog dey say is very bad,
Many folk is talkin' all about it yet.
So of course dey're comin' back lak de racer on de track,
For hees dog, dey don't get not'ing till dey're passin' on Marquette.
Wall, I s'pose he's very poor, Pierre Leblanc,
An' de pay he's gettin' for it's purty small,
An' he got to eat hese'f, or mebbe he was lef',
So we never get our letter affer all.

An' den he start to grow, an' de way he work, dey say,
For de folk on ole Marquette an' all aroun',
Mak' heem very populaire on de contree ev'ryw'ere,
Till he t'ink he was de beeges' man in town.
Den hees head begin to swell, 'cos ma fader tole me so,
An' firse t'ing he was puttin' on de beeges' style he can;
But he ought to be ashame for de way he change hees name
To Peter White, an' try to pass for only Yankee man.

Mebbe leetle Injun too, can't say for dat mese'f,
For he alway spik sauvage de sam' as Ojibway
An' w'en he want to swear it's enough to raise de hair
To hear heem sayin' "Wabigoon ah -- goozah -- goozah -- gay."
An' lak' de Injun, too, very hard to tell hees age,
For he mus' be over honder, dough he's lookin' forty year;
An' he's alway on de rush, you can't lose heem on de bush,
An' hees eye is lak de eagle, strong an' clear.

An' he's leevin' wit' us now, Pierre Leblanc dit Peter White,
But we won't say not'ing more about hees name;
Let heem try it if he can, makin' out he's Yankee man,
But never min', for Pierre Leblanc he's good man jus' de sam'.
So if you want to know de State of Michigan,
Very easy to remember -- in case you might forget --
Only two man mak' her go, 'cos ma fader tole me so,
An' wan is M'sieu Pierre Leblanc, de oder Pere Marquette.





Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!


Other Poems of Interest...
Home: PoetryExplorer.net