Analysis of Possum Song
James Weldon Johnson 1871 (Jacksonville) – 1938 (Wiscasset)
'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' you
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!
Scheme | aBBaCcDbexebefe GBGBBBCBhBBhCCDgigbgifb GBGBBBCB |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 101011 1101 1101 110111 11011101111 110111111 11111 1111 1111 11110 1111 1111 110111 110110 110111 111111 11101 111111 11101 11 111111 11011101111 11101 110101 1101 1101 1110101 11011101111 11011101111 11111 11111 10111 10011111 111101 1111 11111 110110 110101 111111 11101 111111 11101 11 111111 11011101111 11101 |
Closest metre | Iambic trimeter |
Characters | 1,251 |
Words | 237 |
Sentences | 25 |
Stanzas | 3 |
Stanza Lengths | 15, 23, 8 |
Lines Amount | 46 |
Letters per line (avg) | 20 |
Words per line (avg) | 5 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 306 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 78 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:13 min read
- 121 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"Possum Song" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/20725/possum-song>.
Discuss this James Weldon Johnson poem analysis with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In