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An Explanation

James Weldon Johnson 1871 (Jacksonville) – 1938 (Wiscasset)

Look heah! 'Splain to me de reason
Why you said to Squire Lee,
Der wuz twelve ole chicken thieves
In dis heah town, includin' me.
Ef he tole you dat, my brudder,
He said sump'n dat warn't true;
W'at I said wuz dis, dat der wuz
Twelve, widout includin' you.
Oh! . . . !—

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 30, 2023

17 sec read
184

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABCBDDCEF
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 271
Words 54
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 9
Full analysis for An Explanation »

James Weldon Johnson

James Weldon Johnson was an American author, educator, lawyer, diplomat, songwriter, and early civil rights activist. Johnson is best remembered for his leadership within the NAACP as well as for his writing, which includes novels, poems, and anthologies. He was also the first African-American professor at New York University. Later in life he was a professor of creative literature and writing at Fisk University. more…

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    "An Explanation" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 23 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/20692/an-explanation>.

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