| |
| MERRY voices chatterin’, | |
| Nimble feet dem patterin’, | |
| Big an’ little, faces gay, | |
| Happy day dis market day. | |
| |
| Sateday, de marnin’ break, | 5 |
| Soon, soon market-people wake; | |
| An’ de light shine from de moon | |
| While dem boy, wid pantaloon | |
| Roll up obey dem knee-pan, | |
| ’Tep across de buccra lan’ | 10 |
| To de pastur whe’ de harse | |
| Feed along wid de jackass, | |
| An’ de mule cant’ in de track | |
| Wid him tail up in him back, | |
| All de ketchin’ to defy, | 15 |
| No ca’ how 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 | 20 |
| Hots 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. | 25 |
| On de bit dem hol’ dem full: | |
| Racin’ ober pastur’ lan’, | |
| See dem comin’ ebery man, | |
| Comin’ fe de steamin’ tea | |
| Ober hilly track an’ lea. | 30 |
| |
| Hard-wuk’d donkey on de road | |
| Trottin’ wid him ushal load, | |
| Hamper pack’ wi’ yam an’ grain, | |
| Sour-sop, and Gub’nor cane. | |
| |
| Cous’ Sun sits in hired dray, | 35 |
| Drivin’ ’long de market way; | |
| Whole week grindin’ sugar cane | |
| Trough de boilin’ sun an’ rain, | |
| Now, a’ter de toilin’ hard, | |
| He goes seekin’ his reward, | 40 |
| While he’s thinkin’ in him min’ | |
| Of de dear ones lef’ behin’, | |
| Of de loved though ailin’ wife, | |
| Darlin’ treasure of his life, | |
| An’ de picknies, six in all, | 45 |
| Whose ’nuff burdens ’pon him fall: | |
| Seben lovin’ ones in need, | |
| Seben hungry mouths fe feed; | |
| On deir wants he thinks alone, | |
| Neber dreamin’ of his own, | 50 |
| But gwin’ on wid joyful face | |
| Till him re’ch de market-place. | |
| |
| Sugar bears no price to-day, | |
| Though it is de mont’ o’ May, | |
| When de time is hellish hot, | 55 |
| An’ de water cocoanut | |
| An’ de cane bebridge is nice, | |
| Mix’ up wid a filly ice. | |
| Big an’ little, great an’ small, | |
| Afou yam is all de call; | 60 |
| Sugar tup an’ gill a quart, | |
| Yet de people hab de heart | |
| Wantin’ brater top o’ i’, | |
| Want de sweatin’ higgler fe | |
| Ram de pan an’ pile i’ up, | 65 |
| Yet sell i’ fe so-so tup. | |
| |
| Cousin Sun is lookin’ sad, | |
| As de market is so bad; | |
| ’Pon him han’ him res’ him chin, | |
| Quietly sit do’n thinkin’ | 70 |
| Of de loved wife sick in bed, | |
| An’ de children to be fed— | |
| What de laborers would say | |
| When dem know him couldn’ pay; | |
| Also what about de mill | 75 |
| Whe’ him hire 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: | 80 |
| In his ears rang trough 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, | 85 |
| Him set do’n an’ begin count | |
| All de time him min’ deh doubt | |
| How expenses would pay out; | |
| Ah, it gnawed him like de ticks, | |
| Sugar sell fe two-an’-six! | 90 |
| |
| So he journeys on de way, | |
| Feelin’ sad dis market day; | |
| No e’en buy a little cake | |
| To gi’e baby when she wake,— | |
| Passin’ ’long de candy-shop | 95 |
| ’Douten eben mek a stop | |
| To buy drops fe las’y son, | |
| For de filly cash nea’ done. | |
| So him re’ch him own a groun’, | |
| An’ de children scamper roun’, | 100 |
| 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 | 105 |
| 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, | 110 |
| Cut an’ carve, an’ carve an’ cut, | |
| Mek gill sarbe fe quattiewut; | |
| We mus’ try mek two ends meet | |
| Neber mind how hard be it. | |
| We won’t mind de haul an’ pull, | 115 |
| While dem pickny belly full.” | |
| |
| An’ de shadow lef’ him face, | |
| An’ him felt an inward peace, | |
| As he blessed his better part | |
| For her sweet an’ gentle heart: | 120 |
| “Dear one o’ 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, | 125 |
| 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, | 130 |
| Happy in de marnin’ light, | |
| Never thinkin’ of de night. | |
| |
| So dey k’lated eberyt’ing; | |
| An’ de profit it could bring, | |
| A’ter all de business fix’, | 135 |
| Was a princely two-an’-six. | |
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