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Title: Lac Souci
Author: William Henry Drummond [
More Titles by Drummond]
Talk about lakes! dere 's none dat lies in
Laurentide mountain or near de sea,
W'en de star 's gone off an' de sun is risin',
Can touch w'at dey call it Lac Souci,
Restin' dere wit' de woods behin' her,
Sleepin' dere t'roo de summer night--
But watch her affer de mornin's fin' her,
An' over de hill-top shine de light.
See w'ere de shadder sweep de water,
Pine tree an' cloud, how dey come an' go;
Careful now, an' you 'll see de otter
Slidin' into de pool below--
Look at de loon w'en de breeze is ketch heem
Shakin' hese'f as he cock de eye!
Takes a nice leetle win' to fetch heem,
So he 's gettin' a chance to fly.
Every bird dey mus' kip behin' heem
W'en he 's only jus' flap de wing,
Ah! dere he 's goin'--but never min' heem,
For lissen de robin begin to sing--
Trout 's comin' up too!--dat 's beeg rise dere,
Four of dem! Golly! it 's purty hard case,
No rod here, an' dey 're all good size dere!
Don't ax me not'ing about de place.
No use nobody goin' murder
T'ree an' four pounder lak dat, siree!
Wall! if you promise it won't go furder
I 'll tole you nex' summer--bimeby--mebbe--
W'at is dat movin' among de spruce dere?
Sure as I 'm livin' dere 's 'noder wan too--
Offen enough I 'm gettin' a moose dere,
Non!--it 's only a couple of caribou.
Black duck so early? See how dey all come,
Wan leetle family roun' de ben'--
Let dem enjoy it, wait till de fall come,
Dey won't be feelin' so happy den!
Smoke on de mountain? Yass, I can smell her--
Who is it now, Jean Bateese Boucher?
Geev' me some tam, an' I 'll feex dat feller
Shootin' de moose on de summer day.
W'at do you t'ink of a sapree beaver
Hittin' hees tail on de lake dat way?
Ought to be home wit' hees wife--not leave her
Workin' away on de house all day--
Funny t'ing, too, how he alway fin' me
Sailin' along on de ole canoe,
Lookin' for sign--den bang! behin' me
An' down on de water--dat's w'at he do.
Otter feeshin' an' bob cat cryin'--
Up on de sky de beeg black hawk--
Down on de swamp w'ere a dead log 's lyin',
Pa'tridge doin' hees own cake-walk!
If you never was see dem, hear dem--
Tak' leetle tour on de Lac Souci,
An' w'enever you 're comin' near dem,
You 're goin' crazy de sam' as me.
Talk about lakes of every nation,
Talk about water of any kin',
Don't matter you go over all creation--
De Lac Souci she can beat dem blin'.
Happy to leev an' happy to die dere--
But Heaven itself won't satisfy me,
Till I fin' leetle hole off on de sky dere
W'ere I can be lookin' on Lac Souci!
[The end]
William Henry Drummond's poem: Lac Souci
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