Two-An’-Six
Merry voices chatterin’,
Nimble feet dem patterin’,
Big an’ little, faces gay,
Happy day dis market day.
Sateday![1] de marnin’ break,
Soon, soon market-people wake;
An’ de light shine from de moon
While dem boy, wid pantaloon
Roll up ober dem knee-pan,
’Tep[2] across de buccra lan’
To de pastur whe’ de harse[3]
Feed along wid de jackass,
An’ de mule cant’ in de track’[4]
Wid him tail up in him back,
All de ketchin’ to defy,
No ca’ how[5] dem boy might try.
In de early marnin’ -tide,
When de cocks crow on de hill
An’ de stars are shinin’ still,
Mirrie by de fireside
Hots[6] de coffee for de lads
Comin’ ridin’ on de pads
T’rown across dem animul
Donkey, harse too, an’ de mule,
Which at last had come do’n cool.[7]
On de bit dem hol’ dem full:
Racin’ ober pastur’ lan’,
See dem comin’ ebery man,
Comin’ fe de steamin’ tea[8]
Ober hilly track an’ lea.
Hard-wuk’d donkey on de road
Trottin’ wid him ushal[9] load,—
Hamper[10] pack’ wi’ yarn an’ grain,
Sour-sop,[11] an’ Gub’nor cane.[12]
Cous’ Sun[13] sits in hired dray,
Drivin’ ’long de market way
Whole week grindin’ sugar-cane
T’rough de boilin’ sun an’ rain,
Now, a’ter[14] de toilin’ hard,
He goes seekin’ his reward,
While he’s thinkin’ in him min’
Of de dear ones Ief’ behin’,
Of de loved though ailin’ wife,
Darlin’ treasure of his life,
An’ de picknies, six in all,
Whose ’nuff[15] burdens ’pon him fall:
Seben[16] lovin’ ones in need,
Seben hungry mouths fe feed;
On deir wants he thinks alone,
Neber dreamin’ of his own,
But gwin’ on wid joyful face
Till him re’ch[17] de market-place.
Sugar bears no price te-day,
Though it is de mont’ o’ May,
When de time is hellish hot,
An’ de water-cocoanut[18]
An’ de cane bebridge[19] is nice,
Mix’ up wid a lilly ice.[20]
Big an’ little, great an’ small,
Afou yam is all de call;[21]
Sugar tup an’ gill[22] a quart,
Yet de people hab de heart
Wantin’ brater[23] top o’ i’,
Want de sweatin’ higgler fe
Ram de pan an’ pile i’ up,
Yet sell i’ fe so-so tup.[24]
Cousin Sun is lookin’ sad,
As de market is so bad;
’Pon him han’ him res’ him chin,
Quietly sit do’o thinkin’
Of de loved wife sick in bed,
An’ de children to be fed–
What de labourers would say
When dem know him couldn’ pay;
Also what about de mill
Whe’ him hire[25] from ole Bill;
So him think, an’ think on so,
Till him t’oughts no more could go.
Then he got up an’ began
Pickin’ up him sugar-pan:[26]
In his ears rang t’rough de din
“Only two-an’-six a tin!”
What a tale he’d got to tell,
How bad, bad de sugar sell!
Tekin’ out de lee amount,
Him set do’n an’ begin count;
All de time him min’ deh doubt[27]
How expenses would pay out;
Ah, it gnawed him like de ticks,
Sugar sell fe two-an’-six!
So he journeys on de way,
Feelin’ sad dis market day;
No e’en buy[28] a little cake
To gi’e baby when she wake,—
Passin’ ’long de candy-shop
’Douten eben mek a stop
To buy drops fe las’y[29] son,
For de lilly cash nea’ done.
So him re’ch him own a groun’,
An’ de children scamper roun’,
Each one stretchin’ out him han’,
Lookin’ to de poor sad man.
Oh, how much he felt de blow,
As he watched dem face fall low,
When dem wait an’ nuttin’ came
An’ drew back deir han’s wid shame!
But de sick wife kissed his brow:
“Sun, don’t get down-hearted now;
Ef we only pay expense
We mus’ wuk we common-sense,
Cut an’ carve, an’ carve an’ cut,
Mek gill sarbe fe quattiewut’;[30]
We mus’ try mek two ends meet
Neber mind how hard be it.
We won’t mind de haul an’ pull,
While dem pickny belly full.”[31]
An’ de shadow lef’ him face,
An’ him felt an inward peace,
As he blessed his better part
For her sweet an’ gentle heart:
“Dear one 0′ my heart, my breat’,
Won’t I lub you to de deat’?
When my heart is weak an’ sad,
Who but you can mek it glad?”
So dey kissed an’ kissed again,
An’ deir t’oughts were not on pain,
But was ’way down in de sout’
Where dey’d wedded in deir yout’,
In de marnin’ of deir life
Free from all de grief an’ strife,
Happy in de marnin’ light,
Never thinkin’ of de night.
So dey k’lated[32] eberyt’ing;
An’ de profit it could bring,
A’ter all de business fix’,
Was a princely two-an’-six.
Compensation
Dere is a rest-place for de weary feet,
An’ for de bitter cup a conquering sweet:
For sore an’ burdened hearts dere’ll be a balm,
And after days of tempest comes a calm.
For every smallest wrong dere is a right,
An’ t’rough de dark shall gleam a ray of light:
Oppression for a season may endure,
But ’tis true wud, “For ebery ill a cure.”
Den let me not t’ink hard of those who use
Deir power tyrannously an’ abuse:
Let me remember always while I live,
De noblest of all deeds is to forgive.
This, not revenge, is sweet: this lif’s[1] de soul
An’ meks it wort’ while[2] in a empty wul’:
Far better than an old an’ outworn creed
’Tis each day to do one such noble deed.
Heartless Rhoda
Kiss me, as you want it so;
Lub me, ef it wort’ de while;[1]
Yet I feel it an’ I know[2]
Dat, as t’rough de wul’ you go,
You will oft look back an’ smile
At de t’ings which you now do.
Tek me to de church te-day,
Call me wife as you go home;
Hard fate, smilin’ at us, say[3]
Dat de whole is so-so play;
Soon de ushal en’ will come,
An’ we both will choice[4] our way.
* * * *
Spare you’ breat’, me husban’ true,
I be’n marry you fe fun:[5]
Lub dat las’ long is a few,[6]
An’ I hadn’ much fe you.
I be’n tell you it would done,[7]
All whe’ come is wha’ you do.[8]
Life I only care to see
In de way dat udders[9] live;
I experiment to be
All dat fate can mek o’ me:
Glad I tek all whe’ she give,
For I’m hopin’ to be free.[10]
A Dream
The roosters give the signal for daybreak,
And through my window[1] pours the grey of morn;
Refreshing breezes fan me as I wake,
And down the valley sounds the wesly[2] horn.
Day broadens, and I ope the window wide,[3]
And brilliant sunbeams, mixing, rush between
The gaping blinds, while down at my bedside
I kneel to utter praise to the Unseen.
The torch-light glistens through the wattle-pane,[4]
And clouds of smoke wreathe upward to the skies;
My brother at the squeezer juices cane,[5]
And visions of tea-hour before me rise.
Leaving the valley’s cup the fleeting fog
Steals up the hill-sides decked with sunbeams rare,
Which send their search-rays ’neath the time-worn log,
And drive the sleeping majoes[6] from their lair.
But there are some that yest’reve was the last
For them to sleep into their watery bed;
For now my treacherous fish-pot has them fast,
Their cruel foe which they had so long dread’.[7]
Right joyfully I hear the school-bell ring,
And by my sister’s side away I trot;
I’m happy as the swee-swees[8] on the wing,
And feel naught but contentment in my lot.
I lightly gambol on the school-yard green,
And where the damsels[9] by the bamboo grove
In beautiful and stately growth are seen,
For tiny shiny star-apples I rove.
* * * * * *
The morning wind blows softly past my door,
And we prepare for work with gladsome heart;
Sweetly the wesly horn resounds once more,
A warning that ’tis time for us to start.
I scamper quickly ’cross the fire-burnt soil,
And the coarse grass-tufts prick my tender feet;
I watch my father at his honest toil,
And wonder how he stands the sun’s fierce heat.
A winding footpath down the woodland leads,
And through the tall fox-tails I wend my way
Down to the brooklet where the pea-dove feeds,
And bucktoes[10] in the water are at play.
And watching as the bubbles rise and fall,
I hear above the murmur of the dale
The tropic music dear to great and small,
The joyous outburst of the nightingale .
* * * * * *
Gone now those happy days when all was blest,
For I have left my home and kindred dear;
In a strange place I am a stranger’s guest,
The pains, the real in life, I’ve now to bear.
No more again I’ll idle at my will,
Running the mongoose down upon the lea;
No more I’ll jostle[11] Monty up the hill,
To pick the cashews[12] off the laden tree.
I feel the sweetness of those days again,
And hate, so hate, on the past scenes to look;
All night in dreaming comes the awful pain,
All day I groan beneath the iron yoke.
In mercy then, ye Gods, deal me swift death!
Ah! you refuse, and life instead you give;
You keep me here and still prolong my breath,
That I may suffer all the days I live.
* * * * * *
’Tis home again, but not the home of yore;
Sadly the scenes of bygone days I view,
And as I walk the olden paths once more,
My heart grows chilly as the morning dew.
But see I to-day again my life is glad,
My heart no more is lone, nor will it pine;
A comfort comes, an earthly fairy clad
In white, who guides me with her hand in mine.
Her lustrous eyes gleam only tender love,
And viewing her, an angel form I see;
I feed my spirit on my gentle dove,
My sweetheart Lee, my darling Idalee.[13]
And where the peenies glow with greenish fire,
We kiss and kiss and pledge our hearts as true
Of sweet love-words and hugs we never tire,
But felt more sorry that they were so few .
* * * * * *
I leave my home again, wand’ring afar,
But goes with me her true, her gentle heart,
Ever to be my hope, my guiding star,
And whisperings of comfort to impart.
Methinks we’re strolling by the woodland stream,
And my frame thrills with joy to hear her sing:
But, O my God! ’tis all—’tis all a dream;
This is the end, the rude awakening.