Ben King's Verse. Benjamin Franklin King
Give me a love that has never been loved,
Not knowing the glance of the bold and unwary,
A cherup abreast with the saints up above,
And I'll get along and be passably merry.
But come on the fly to me, come on the jump,
Don't hang around on the outskirts and walk to me;
Throw out your cest well, and hold up your head;
Say when, and say it, or else don't you talk to me.
Gettin' Inter Shape
Reckon de angel what rolled 'way de stone,
An' let de good shepherd escape,
Some day 'll fly down to dis prison ob sin
An lib'rate all dat's prepahed to come in;
So I'se gittin' my soul inter shape,
Gittin' my soul inter shape, fo' yo' see
Hit's a mighty big stone dat's layin' on me,
Mighty big stone! Yes, indeedy!
I hope de good angel will hab heaps o' strength,
Or else bring old Samson along,
Kase the sin on my soul's mo' 'en fo'ty foot deep;
Yo' see, I bin one ob dese wanderin' sheep,
An' hit's gwine ter need somebody strong,
Gwine ter need somebody strong, doan yo' see;
Hit's a mighty big weight dat's a restin' on me.
Pow'ful big weight! Yes, indeedy!
I'se gittin' my soul inter shape fo' de day
When Peter 'gins takin' 'is toll;
Ready ter lay down my burden an' rest,
Ready ter take up de cross ob de blest,
Ready ter entah de fol'.
Gittin' my soul inter shape, doan yo' see;
Dar's a big load ob sin bin restin' on me,
Big load ob sin! Yes, indeedy!
Yes, indeedy!
Evolution
We seem to exist in a hazardous time,
Driftin' along here through space;
Nobody knows just when we begun
Or how fur we've gone in the race.
Scientists argy we're shot from the sun,
While others we're goin' right back,
An' some say we've allers been here more or less,
An' seem to establish the fact.
O' course 'at's somepin' 'at nobody knows,
As far as I've read or cun see;
An' them as does know all about the hull scheme,
Why, none of 'em never agree.
Now, why I think it's a perilous time,--
What do we know 'bout them spots
Up there on that glorious orb of the day?
Smart men has argyed an' lots
Of the brainiest folks has been cypherin' out,
An' all sorts of stories has riz
'Bout what the sun's made of or how it's composed,
An' lots of 'em think that it is.
O' course 'at's somepin' 'at nobody knows--
Nobody under the sun;
Nary a body or bein', I s'pose;
Nary a bein but One.
Take Eva Lution, an' what does she say
'Bout how we all sprung from a ape?
An' there's the goriller and big chimpanzee,
Patterned exactly our shape.
An' I've seen some folks, an' I guess so have you,
An' it ain't non of our bizness neither,
That actually looked like they sprung from a ape,
And didn't have fur to spring either.
Course 'at's somepin 'at every one knows;
I don't see how you folks can doubt it;
S'posin' they have some resemblance to us,
No use in a-writin' about it.
If a feller'll take a geology book
An' not go a rushin' long through it,
But jes' sort o' figger the thing out hisself--
What I mean is: 'ply hisself to it--
He'll see we've dug up folks ten thousand years old,
Built on a ponderous plan;
Somehow this knocks Mr. Moses all out,
An' Adam, the biblical man.
O' course 'at's somepin' 'at nobody knows,
Nobody under the sun;
Nary a body or bein' I s'pose,
Nary a bein' but One.
Gedder in Yo' Grain
De ole plow hoss is busy
Breshin' flies off wid his tail,
De ole dog's got a move on him
Dat's zackly like a snail.
De meddeh grass is noddin'
En off yondah in de lane
I kin hyar de tree toads warnin'
"Bettah gedder in yo' grain."
Doan yo' hyar de frogs a-gurglin'
Dar out yondah in de pond?
What's de mattah wid de catbird,
Doan yo' hyar his voice respond?
Ain't de hull of 'em a-tellin' yo'
In language mighty plain,
"Doan be frivlin' way yo' moments,
Bettah gedder in yo' grain/"
Ain't de bumble bee a-hummin'
'Mongst de clovah tops an' flowahs,
Whilst de ole clock am a-tickin' 'way
De minutes an de houahs?
Chile, yo's got to be a-hus'lin'
To ketch de wisdom train.
Doan waste no opportunities,
But gedder in yo' grain.
Jane Jones
Jane Jones keeps talkin' to me all the time,
An' says you must make it a rule
To study your lessons 'nd work hard 'nd learn,