Possum Song
(A Warning)'Simmons ripenin' in de fall,
You better run,
Brudder 'Possum, run!
Mockin' bird commence to call,
You better run,
Brudder 'Possum, git out de way!
You better run,
Brudder'Possum, git out de way!
Run some whar an' hide!
Ole moon am sinkin'Down behin' de tree.
Ole Eph am thinkin'An' chuckelin' wid glee.
Ole Tige am blinkin'An' frisky as kin be,
Yo' chances,
Brudder 'Possum,
Look mighty slim to me.
Run, run, run,
I tell you,
Run,
Brudder 'Possum, run!
Run, run, run,
I tell you,
Ole Eph's got a gun.
Pickaninnies grinnin'Waitin' fu' to see de fun.
You better run,
Brudder 'Possum, git out de way!
Run,
Brudder 'Possum, run!\Brudder 'Possum take a tip;
You better run,
Brudder 'Possum, run!'Tain't no use in actin' flip,
You better run,
Brudder 'Possum, git out de way!
You better run,
Brudder 'Possum, git out de way!
Run some whar an' hide.
Dey's gwine to houn'
All along de line,
W'en dey done foun' you,
Den what's de use in sighin'?
Wid taters roun' you.
You sholy would tase fine—So listen,
Brudder 'Possum,
You better be a-flyin'.
Run, run, run,
I tell you,
Run,
Brudder 'Possum, run!
Run, run, run,
I tell you,
Ole Eph's got a gun.
Pickaninnies grinnin'Waitin' fu' to see de fun.
You better run,
Brudder 'Possum, git out de way!
Run,
Brudder 'Possum, run!
James Weldon Johnson
Other author posts
Dat Gal o Mine
Skin as black an' jes as sof' as a velvet dress, Teeth as white as ivory —well dey is I guess Eyes dat's jes as big an' bright as de evenin' star; An' dat hol' some sort o' light lublier by far
Deep In the Quiet Wood
Are you bowed down in heart Do you but hear the clashing discords and the din of life Then come away, come to the peaceful wood, Here bathe your soul in silence
From The Spanish
Twenty years go by on noiseless feet, He returns, and once again they meet, She exclaims, Good heavens and is that he He mutters, My God and that is she
O Black And Unknown Bards
O black and unknown bards of long ago, How came your lips to touch the sacred fire How, in your darkness, did you come to The power and beauty of the minstrel's lyre