Analysis of When dey 'Listed Colored Soldiers
Paul Laurence Dunbar 1872 (Dayton) – 1906
Dey was talkin' in de cabin, dey was talkin' in de hall;
But I listened kin' o' keerless, not a-t'inkin' 'bout it all;
An' on Sunday, too, I noticed, dey was whisp' rin' mighty much
Stan'in' all erroun' de roadside w'en dey let us out o' chu'ch.
But I did n't t'ink erbout it 'twell de middle of de week,
An' my 'Lias come to see me, an' somehow he could n't speak.
Den I seed all in a minute whut he'd come to see me for; -
Dey had 'listed colo'ed sojers an' my 'Lias gwine to wah.
Oh, I hugged him, an' I kissed him, an' I baiged him not to go;
But he tol' me dat his conscience, hit was callin' to him so,
An' he could n't baih to lingah w'en he had a chanst to fight
For de freedom dey had gin him an' de glory of de right.
So he kissed me, an' he lef' me, w'en I'd p'omised to be true;
An' dey put a knapsack on him, an' a coat all colo'ed blue.
So I gin him pap's ol' Bible f'om de bottom of de draw', -
W'en dey 'listed colo'ed sojers an' my 'Lias went to wah.
But I t'ought of all de weary miles dat he would have to tramp,
An' I could n't be contented w'en dey tuk him to de camp.
W'y my hea't nigh broke wid grievin' 'twell I seed him on de street;
Den I felt lak I could go an' th'ow my body at his feet.
For his buttons was a-shinin', an' his face was shinin', too,
An' he looked so strong an' mighty in his coat o' sojer blue,
Dat I hollahed, 'Step up, manny,' dough my th'oat was so' an' raw, -
W'en dey 'listed colo'ed sojers an' my 'Lias went to wah.
Ol' Mis' cried w'en mastah lef' huh, young Miss mou'ned huh brothah Ned,
An' I did n't know dey feelin's is de ve'y wo'ds dey said
W'en I tol' 'em I was so'y. Dey had done gin up dey all;
But dey only seemed mo' proudah dat dey men had hyeahed de call.
Bofe my mastahs went in gray suits, an' I loved de Yankee blue,
But I t'ought dat I could sorrer for de losin' of 'em too;
But I could n't, for I did n't know de ha'f o' whut I saw,
'Twell dey 'listed colo'ed sojers an' my 'Lias went to wah.
Mastah Jack come home all sickly; he was broke for life, dey said;
An' dey lef' my po' young mastah some'r's on de roadside, - dead.
W'en de women cried an' mou'ned 'em, I could feel it thoo an' thoo,
For I had a loved un fightin' in de way o' dangah, too.
Den dey tol' me dey had laid him some'r's way down souf to res',
Wid de flag dat he had fit for shinin' daih acrost his breas'.
Well, I cried, but den I reckon dat 's whut Gawd had called him for,
W'en dey 'listed colo'ed sojers an' my 'Lias went to wah.
Scheme | aabbccde ffgghhiE jjkkhheE llaahhie llxhmmdE |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 111001101110011 1110111101111 11111101111101 1011111001111111 1111111111110111 11111111111111 111100101111111 11101011111111 111111111111111 11111110111111 111111111001110111 111011111110111 11111111100111111 111011110111011 111111101110111 10011101011111111 1111111101111111 1111110101001111111 10011111111111111 11111111111110111 1110101111111 11111110011111 1111110111111111 10011101011111111 1111001111111111 111111111111111 100111011111111111 11101111111111 11110111111101 11111111111111 111111111111111111 11101011111111 11111101111111 111111111111 100111011111111111 1110111011111 11111111111111 1111111111111 1111111011111111 10011101011111111 |
Characters | 2,442 |
Words | 524 |
Sentences | 17 |
Stanzas | 5 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 8, 8, 8, 8 |
Lines Amount | 40 |
Letters per line (avg) | 44 |
Words per line (avg) | 13 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 350 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 104 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 02, 2023
- 2:51 min read
- 87 Views
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"When dey 'Listed Colored Soldiers" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/29003/when-dey-%27listed-colored-soldiers>.
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