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Title: A Southern Lullaby
Author: Virna Sheard [
More Titles by Sheard]
Little honey baby, shet yo' eyes up tight;--
(Shadow-man is comin' from de moon!)--
You's as sweet as roses if dey is so pink an white;
(Shadow-man'll get here mighty soon.)
Little honey baby, keep yo' 'footses still!--
(Rocky-bye, oh, rocky, rocky-bye!)
Hush yo' now, an listen to dat lonesome whip-po'-will;
Don't yo fix yo' lip an start to cry!
Little honey baby, stop dat winkin' quick!
(Hear de hoot-owl in de cotton-wood!)
Yess--I sees yo' eyes adoin' dat dere triflin' trick,--
(He gets chillun if dey isn't good.)
Little honey baby, what yo' think yo' see?--
(Sister keep on climbin' to de sky--)
Dat's a June bug--it ain't got no stinger, lak a bee,--
(Reach de glory city by-an-by.)
Little honey baby, what yo' skeery at?--
(Go down, Moses--down to Phar-e-oh!)--
No--dat isn't nuffin but a furry fly-round bat;--
(Say, he'd betta let dose people go.)
Little honey baby, yo' is all ma own,--
Deed yo' is.--Yes,--dat's a fia-fly;--
If I didn't hab yo',--reckon I'd be all alone;
(Rocky-bye--oh, rocky, rocky-bye.)
Little honey baby, shet yo' eyes up tight;--
(Shadow man is comin' from de moon,)
You's as sweet as roses, if dey is so pink and white;
(Shadow-man'll get here mighty soon.)
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The lines in brackets are supposed to be sung or chanted. The Southern
"Mammy" seldom sang a song through, but interlaced it with
comments.--V.S.
[The end]
Virna Sheard's poem: Southern Lullaby
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