A Grievance
Wen de snow 's a-fallin'An' de win' is col'.Mammy 'mence a-callin',Den she 'mence to scol',"Lucius Lishy Brackett,Don't you go out do's,Button up yo' jacket,Les'n you 'll git froze."
I sit at de windahLookin' at de groun',Nuffin nigh to hindah,Mammy ain' erroun';Wish 't she would n' mek meSet down in dis chaih;Pshaw, it would n't tek meLong to git some aih.
So I jump down nimbleEz a boy kin be,Dough I 's all a-trimbleFeahed some one 'll see;Bet in a half a minuteI fly out de do'An' I 's knee-deep in it,Dat dah blessed snow.
Den I hyeah a pattahCome acrost de flo'.Den dey comes a clattahAt de cabin do';An' my mammy hollerSpoilin' all my joy,"Come in f'om dat waller,Don't I see you, boy?"
Wen de snow 's a-sievin'Down ez sof ez meal,Whut 's de use o' livin''Cept you got de feelOf de stuff dat's fallin''Roun' an' white an' damp,'Dout some one a-callin',"Come in hyeah, you scamp!"
Words in this poem
- mammy n.
- A child's name for mamma, mother.
- brackett n.
- An architectural member, plain or ornamental, projecting from a wall or pier, to support weight falling outside of the same; also, a decorative feature seeming to discharge such an office. [Cf.OF. braguette codpiece, F. brayette, Sp. bragueta, also a projecting mold in architecture; dim. fr.L. bracae breeches; cf. also, OF. bracon beam, prop, suppo]
- pshaw interj.
- Pish! pooch! -- an exclamation used as an expression of contempt, disdain, dislike, etc. [Of imitative origin.]
- waller n.
- One who builds walls.
- scamp n.
- A rascal; a swindler; a rogue. De Quincey. [OF. escamper to run away, to make one's escape. originally, one who runs away, a fugitive, a vagabond. See Scamper.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
A Grievance is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Complete Poems of Paul Laurence Dunbar, Project Gutenberg ebook #18338; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Paul Laurence Dunbar, A Grievance, in The Complete Poems (1893–1905), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #18338, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/dunbar-poems/a-grievance.html, id L00738.
Form and metre
A Grievance is 40 lines in 5 stanzas of 8 lines each. The commonest rhyme scheme is ABABCDCD, in 2 of the 5 stanzas; the rest vary or could not be confirmed. The metre is trochaic trimeter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 86%). 100% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 5.7 syllables. 10 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 25% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in trochaic trimeter.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 1 ABABC-C- fallinA · colB · callinA · scolB · brackettC · do's · jacketC · froze
- 2 ABABCDCD windahA · grounB · hindahA · errounB · meC · chaihD · meC · aihD
- 3 ABABC-C- nimbleA · beB · trimbleA · seeB · minuteC · do · itC · snow
- 4 A-A--B-B pattahA · flo · clattahA · do · holler · joyB · waller · boyB
- 5 ABABCDCD sievinA · mealB · livinA · feelB · fallinC · dampD · callinC · scampD
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against trochaic trimeter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Wen de snow 's a-fallin' | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| An' de win' is col'. | 5 | ····· |
| Mammy 'mence a-callin', | 6 | /˘···· |
| Den she 'mence to scol', | 5 | ····· |
| "Lucius Lishy Brackett, | 6 | /˘··/˘ |
| Don't you go out do's, | 5 | ····· |
| Button up yo' jacket, | 6 | /˘··/˘ |
| Les'n you 'll git froze." | 5 | ····· |
| I sit at de windah | 6 | ······ |
| Lookin' at de groun', | 5 | /˘··· |
| Nuffin nigh to hindah, | 6 | ······ |
| Mammy ain' erroun'; | 5 | /˘··· |
| Wish 't she would n' mek me | 7 | ······· |
| Set down in dis chaih; | 5 | ····· |
| Pshaw, it would n't tek me | 6 | ······ |
| Long to git some aih. | 5 | ····· |
| So I jump down nimble | 6 | ····/˘ |
| Ez a boy kin be, | 5 | ····· |
| Dough I 's all a-trimble | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Feahed some one 'll see; | 5 | ····· |
| Bet in a half a minute | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| I fly out de do' | 5 | ····· |
| An' I 's knee-deep in it, | 7 | ······· |
| Dat dah blessed snow. | 5 | ···˘· |
| Den I hyeah a pattah | 6 | ······ |
| Come acrost de flo'. | 5 | ····· |
| Den dey comes a clattah | 6 | ······ |
| At de cabin do'; | 5 | ··/˘· |
| An' my mammy holler | 6 | ··/˘/˘ |
| Spoilin' all my joy, | 5 | ····· |
| "Come in f'om dat waller, | 6 | ····/˘ |
| Don't I see you, boy?" | 5 | ····· |
| Wen de snow 's a-sievin' | 7 | ······· |
| Down ez sof ez meal, | 5 | ····· |
| Whut 's de use o' livin' | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| 'Cept you got de feel | 5 | ····· |
| Of de stuff dat's fallin' | 6 | ····/˘ |
| 'Roun' an' white an' damp, | 5 | ····· |
| 'Dout some one a-callin', | 6 | ······ |
| "Come in hyeah, you scamp!" | 5 | ····· |
The reader shows the same poem with its rhymes coloured and a stress row above each line, the notes beside their stanzas, and any word's definition on a tap; the analysis page takes the whole book apart. How every part of this site was made.