When de Co'n Pone's Hot



Dey is times in life when Nature  
   Seems to slip a cog an' go,
  Jes' a-rattlin' down creation,
   Lak an ocean's overflow;
  When de worl' jes' stahts a-spinnin'
   Lak a picaninny's top,
  An' yo' cup o' joy is brimmin'
   'Twell it seems about to slop,
  An' you feel jes' lak a racah,
  Dat is trainin' fu' to trot--
 When yo' mammy says de blessin'
  An' de co'n pone's hot.

 When you set down at de table,
  Kin' o' weary lak an' sad,
 An' you 'se jes' a little tiahed
  An' purhaps a little mad;
 How yo' gloom tu'ns into gladness,
  How yo' joy drives out de doubt
 When de oven do' is opened,
  An' de smell comes po'in' out;
 Why, de 'lectric light o' Heaven
  Seems to settle on de spot,
 When yo' mammy says de blessin'
  An' de co'n pone's hot.

 When de cabbage pot is steamin'
  An' de bacon good an' fat,
 When de chittlins is a-sputter'n'
  So's to show you whah dey's at;
 Tek away yo' sody biscuit,
  Tek away yo' cake an' pie,
 Fu' de glory time is comin',
  An' it's 'proachin' mighty nigh,
 An' you want to jump an' hollah,
  Dough you know you'd bettah not,
 When yo' mammy says de blessin'
  An' de co'n pone's hot.

 I have hyeahd a' lots o' sermons,
  An' I've hyeahd o' lots o' prayers,
 An I've listened to some singin'
  Dat has tuck me up de stairs
 Of de Glory-Lan' an' set me
  Jes' below de Mastah's th'one,
 An' have lef' my hea't a-singin'
  In a happy aftah tone;
 But dem wu'ds so sweetly murmured
  Seem to tech de softes' spot,
 When my mammy says de blessin',
  An' de co'n pone's hot.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on May 03, 2023

1:32 min read
195

Quick analysis:

Scheme xababcbcadBD efdfghxhbdBD bixixjbjedBD ggbgxbbxxdbD
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 1,487
Words 286
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 12, 12, 12, 12

Paul Laurence Dunbar

Paul Laurence Dunbar was a seminal American poet of the late 19th and early 20th centuries Dunbar gained national recognition for his 1896 Lyrics of a Lowly Life one poem in the collection being Ode to Ethiopia more…

All Paul Laurence Dunbar poems | Paul Laurence Dunbar Books

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