A Spring Wooing
Come on walkin' wid me, Lucy; 't ain't no time to mope erroun'Wen de sunshine 's shoutin' glory in de sky,An' de little Johnny-Jump-Ups 's jes' a-springin' f'om de groun',Den a-lookin' roun' to ax each othah w'y.Don' you hyeah dem cows a-mooin'? Dat 's dey howdy to de spring;Ain' dey lookin' most oncommon satisfied?Hit 's enough to mek a body want to spread dey mouf an' singJes' to see de critters all so spa'klin'-eyed.
W'y dat squir'l dat jes' run past us, ef I did n' know his tricks,I could swaih he 'd got 'uligion jes' to-day;An' dem liza'ds slippin' back an' fofe ermong de stones an' sticksIs a-wigglin' 'cause dey feel so awful gay.Oh, I see yo' eyes a-shinin' dough you try to mek me b'lieveDat you ain' so monst'ous happy 'cause you come;But I tell you dis hyeah weathah meks it moughty ha'd to 'ceiveEf a body's soul ain' blin' an' deef an' dumb.
Robin whistlin' ovah yandah ez he buil' his little nes';Whut you reckon dat he sayin' to his mate?He's a-sayin' dat he love huh in de wo'ds she know de bes',An' she lookin' moughty pleased at whut he state.Now, Miss Lucy, dat ah robin sholy got his sheer o' sense,An' de hen-bird got huh mothah-wit fu' true;So I t'ink ef you 'll ixcuse me, fu' I do' mean no erfence,Dey 's a lesson in dem birds fu' me an' you.
I 's a-buil'in' o' my cabin, an' I 's vines erbove de do'Fu' to kin' o' gin it sheltah f'om de sun;Gwine to have a little kitchen wid a reg'lar wooden flo',An' dey 'll be a back verandy w'en hit 's done.I 's a-waitin' fu' you, Lucy, tek de 'zample o' de birds,Dat 's a-lovin' an' a-matin' evahwhaih.I cain' tell you dat I loves you in de robin's music wo'ds,But my cabin 's talkin' fu' me ovah thaih!
Words in this poem
- mope v. t.
- To make spiritless and stupid.
- sunshine n.
- The light of the sun, or the place where it shines; the direct rays of the sun, the place where they fall, or the warmth and light which they give.
- johnny n.
- A familiar diminutive of John.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
A Spring Wooing 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 Spring Wooing, in The Complete Poems (1893–1905), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #18338, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/dunbar-poems/a-spring-wooing.html, id L00702.
Form and metre
A Spring Wooing is 32 lines in 4 stanzas of 8 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABABCDCD, complete in 2 of its 4 stanzas. The metre is trochaic octameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 81%). 96% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 13.5 syllables. 12% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in trochaic octameter.
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 ABABCDCD errounA · skyB · grounA · w'yB · springC · satisfiedD · singC · eyedD
- 2 ABABCDCD tricksA · dayB · sticksA · gayB · b'lieveC · comeD · ceiveC · dumbD
- 3 -A-ABCBC nes · mateA · bes · stateA · senseB · trueC · erfenceB · youC
- 4 -A-ABCBC do · sunA · flo · doneA · birdsB · evahwhaihC · wo'dsB · thaihC
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 octameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Come on walkin' wid me, Lucy; 't ain't no time to mope erroun' | 16 | ··/˘··/˘········ |
| Wen de sunshine 's shoutin' glory in de sky, | 12 | ··/····/˘··· |
| An' de little Johnny-Jump-Ups 's jes' a-springin' f'om de groun', | 16 | ··/˘/˘·········· |
| Den a-lookin' roun' to ax each othah w'y. | 11 | ··/˘······· |
| Don' you hyeah dem cows a-mooin'? Dat 's dey howdy to de spring; | 15 | ··········/˘··· |
| Ain' dey lookin' most oncommon satisfied? | 11 | ··/˘····/˘· |
| Hit 's enough to mek a body want to spread dey mouf an' sing | 16 | ··˘/···/˘······· |
| Jes' to see de critters all so spa'klin'-eyed. | 11 | ····/˘····· |
| W'y dat squir'l dat jes' run past us, ef I did n' know his tricks, | 15 | ··············· |
| I could swaih he 'd got 'uligion jes' to-day; | 12 | ············ |
| An' dem liza'ds slippin' back an' fofe ermong de stones an' sticks | 15 | ··············· |
| Is a-wigglin' 'cause dey feel so awful gay. | 11 | ········/˘· |
| Oh, I see yo' eyes a-shinin' dough you try to mek me b'lieve | 15 | ··············· |
| Dat you ain' so monst'ous happy 'cause you come; | 11 | ······/˘··· |
| But I tell you dis hyeah weathah meks it moughty ha'd to 'ceive | 15 | ··············· |
| Ef a body's soul ain' blin' an' deef an' dumb. | 11 | ··/˘······· |
| Robin whistlin' ovah yandah ez he buil' his little nes'; | 16 | /˘········/˘·/˘· |
| Whut you reckon dat he sayin' to his mate? | 11 | ··/˘··/˘··· |
| He's a-sayin' dat he love huh in de wo'ds she know de bes', | 15 | ··/˘··········· |
| An' she lookin' moughty pleased at whut he state. | 11 | ··/˘······· |
| Now, Miss Lucy, dat ah robin sholy got his sheer o' sense, | 15 | ··/˘··/˘······· |
| An' de hen-bird got huh mothah-wit fu' true; | 11 | ··········· |
| So I t'ink ef you 'll ixcuse me, fu' I do' mean no erfence, | 16 | ················ |
| Dey 's a lesson in dem birds fu' me an' you. | 12 | ···/˘······· |
| I 's a-buil'in' o' my cabin, an' I 's vines erbove de do' | 17 | ·······/˘········ |
| Fu' to kin' o' gin it sheltah f'om de sun; | 11 | ··········· |
| Gwine to have a little kitchen wid a reg'lar wooden flo', | 15 | ····/˘/˘····/˘· |
| An' dey 'll be a back verandy w'en hit 's done. | 13 | ············· |
| I 's a-waitin' fu' you, Lucy, tek de 'zample o' de birds, | 16 | ···/˘··/˘······· |
| Dat 's a-lovin' an' a-matin' evahwhaih. | 12 | ···/˘··/˘··· |
| I cain' tell you dat I loves you in de robin's music wo'ds, | 15 | ··········/˘/˘· |
| But my cabin 's talkin' fu' me ovah thaih! | 12 | ··/˘·/˘····· |
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