Fishing
Wen I git up in de mo'nin' an' de clouds is big an' black,Dey's a kin' o' wa'nin' shivah goes a-scootin' down my back;Den I says to my ol' ooman ez I watches down de lane,"Don't you so't o' reckon, Lizy, dat we gwine to have some rain?"
"Go on, man," my Lizy answah, "you cain't fool me, not a bit,I don't see no rain a-comin', ef you's wishin' fu' it, quit;Case de mo' you t'ink erbout it, an de mo' you pray an' wish,W'y de rain stay 'way de longah, spechul ef you wants to fish."
But I see huh pat de skillet, an' I see huh cas' huh eyeWid a kin' o' anxious motion to'ds de da'kness in de sky;An' I knows whut she 's a-t'inkin', dough she tries so ha'd to hide.She 's a-sayin', "Would n't catfish now tas'e monst'ous bully, fried?"
Den de clouds git black an' blackah, an' de thundah 'mence to roll,An' de rain, it 'mence a-fallin'. Oh, I's happy, bless my soul!Ez I look at dat ol' skillet, an' I 'magine I kin seeJes' a slew o' new-ketched catfish sizzlin' daih fu' huh an' me.
'T ain't no use to go a-ploughin', fu' de groun' 'll be too wet,So I puts out fu' de big house at a moughty pace, you bet,An' ol' mastah say, "Well, Lishy, ef you t'ink hit 's gwine to rain,Go on fishin', hit 's de weathah, an' I 'low we cain't complain."
Talk erbout a dahky walkin' wid his haid up in de aih!Have to feel mine evah minute to be sho' I got it daih;En' de win' is cuttin' capahs an' a-lashin' thoo de trees,But de rain keeps on a-singin' blessed songs, lak "Tek yo' ease."
Wid my pole erpon my shouldah an' my wo'm can in my han',I kin feel de fish a-waitin' w'en I strikes de rivah's san';Nevah min', you ho'ny scoun'els, need n' swim erroun' an' grin,I 'll be grinnin' in a minute w'en I 'mence to haul you in.
W'en de fish begin to nibble, an' de co'k begin to jump,I 's erfeahed dat dey 'll quit bitin', case dey hyeah my hea't go "thump,"'Twell de co'k go way down undah, an' I raise a awful shout,Ez a big ol' yallah belly comes a gallivantin' out.
Need n't wriggle, Mistah Catfish, case I got you jes' de same,You been eatin', I 'll be eatin', an' we needah ain't to blame.But you need n't feel so lonesome fu' I 's th'owin' out to seeEf dey ain't some of yo' comrades fu' to keep you company.
Spo't, dis fishin'! now you talkin', w'y dey ain't no kin' to beat;I don' keer ef I is soakin', laigs, an' back, an' naik, an' feet,It 's de spo't I 's lookin' aftah. Hit 's de pleasure an' de fun,Dough I knows dat Lizy 's waitin' wid de skillet w'en I's done.
Words in this poem
- skillet n.
- A small vessel of iron, copper, or other metal, with a handle, used for culinary purpose, as for stewing meat. [OF. escuelette, dim. of escuelle a porringer, F. ecuelle, fr. L. scutella, dim. of scutra, scuta, a dish. Cf. Scuttle a basket.]
- grin n.
- A snare; a gin. [AS. grin.]
- lonesome a.
- Secluded from society; not frequented by human beings; solitary.
- naik n.
- A chief; a leader; a Sepoy corporal. Balfour (Cyc. of India). [Hind. nayak.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Fishing 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, Fishing, in The Complete Poems (1893–1905), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #18338, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/dunbar-poems/fishing.html, id L00715.
Form and metre
Fishing is 40 lines in 10 stanzas of 4 lines each. The rhyme scheme is AABB, complete in 9 of its 10 stanzas. The metre is trochaic octameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 82%). 99% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 15.3 syllables. 1 line ends on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 8% 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 AABB blackA · backA · laneB · rainB
- 2 AABB bitA · quitA · wishB · fishB
- 3 AABB eyeA · skyA · hideB · friedB
- 4 AABB rollA · soulA · seeB · meB
- 5 AABB wetA · betA · rainB · complainB
- 6 AABB aihA · daihA · treesB · easeB
- 7 AABB hanA · sanA · grinB · inB
- 8 AABB jumpA · thumpA · shoutB · outB
- 9 AA-- sameA · blameA · see · company
- 10 AABB beatA · feetA · funB · doneB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Wen I git up in de mo'nin' an' de clouds is big an' black, | 15 | ··············· |
| Dey's a kin' o' wa'nin' shivah goes a-scootin' down my back; | 15 | ··············· |
| Den I says to my ol' ooman ez I watches down de lane, | 15 | ··········/˘··· |
| "Don't you so't o' reckon, Lizy, dat we gwine to have some rain?" | 15 | ····/˘········· |
| "Go on, man," my Lizy answah, "you cain't fool me, not a bit, | 15 | ··············· |
| I don't see no rain a-comin', ef you's wishin' fu' it, quit; | 15 | ······/˘······· |
| Case de mo' you t'ink erbout it, an de mo' you pray an' wish, | 15 | ··············· |
| W'y de rain stay 'way de longah, spechul ef you wants to fish." | 15 | ··············· |
| But I see huh pat de skillet, an' I see huh cas' huh eye | 15 | ······/˘······· |
| Wid a kin' o' anxious motion to'ds de da'kness in de sky; | 15 | ····/˘/˘······· |
| An' I knows whut she 's a-t'inkin', dough she tries so ha'd to hide. | 16 | ················ |
| She 's a-sayin', "Would n't catfish now tas'e monst'ous bully, fried?" | 16 | ···/˘··/·····/˘· |
| Den de clouds git black an' blackah, an' de thundah 'mence to roll, | 15 | ··············· |
| An' de rain, it 'mence a-fallin'. Oh, I's happy, bless my soul! | 15 | ······/˘··/˘··· |
| Ez I look at dat ol' skillet, an' I 'magine I kin see | 15 | ······/˘······· |
| Jes' a slew o' new-ketched catfish sizzlin' daih fu' huh an' me. | 15 | ······/·/˘····· |
| 'T ain't no use to go a-ploughin', fu' de groun' 'll be too wet, | 16 | ················ |
| So I puts out fu' de big house at a moughty pace, you bet, | 15 | ··············· |
| An' ol' mastah say, "Well, Lishy, ef you t'ink hit 's gwine to rain, | 16 | ················ |
| Go on fishin', hit 's de weathah, an' I 'low we cain't complain." | 16 | ··············˘/ |
| Talk erbout a dahky walkin' wid his haid up in de aih! | 15 | ······/˘······· |
| Have to feel mine evah minute to be sho' I got it daih; | 15 | ······/˘······· |
| En' de win' is cuttin' capahs an' a-lashin' thoo de trees, | 15 | ··············· |
| But de rain keeps on a-singin' blessed songs, lak "Tek yo' ease." | 14 | ······/˘······ |
| Wid my pole erpon my shouldah an' my wo'm can in my han', | 15 | ··············· |
| I kin feel de fish a-waitin' w'en I strikes de rivah's san'; | 15 | ······/˘······· |
| Nevah min', you ho'ny scoun'els, need n' swim erroun' an' grin, | 15 | ··············· |
| I 'll be grinnin' in a minute w'en I 'mence to haul you in. | 16 | ·······/˘······· |
| W'en de fish begin to nibble, an' de co'k begin to jump, | 15 | ···˘/·/˘···˘/·· |
| I 's erfeahed dat dey 'll quit bitin', case dey hyeah my hea't go "thump," | 17 | ················· |
| 'Twell de co'k go way down undah, an' I raise a awful shout, | 15 | ············/˘· |
| Ez a big ol' yallah belly comes a gallivantin' out. | 15 | ······/˘······· |
| Need n't wriggle, Mistah Catfish, case I got you jes' de same, | 15 | ··/˘··/········ |
| You been eatin', I 'll be eatin', an' we needah ain't to blame. | 16 | ················ |
| But you need n't feel so lonesome fu' I 's th'owin' out to see | 16 | ······/˘········ |
| Ef dey ain't some of yo' comrades fu' to keep you company. | 14 | ······/·····/˘ |
| Spo't, dis fishin'! now you talkin', w'y dey ain't no kin' to beat; | 15 | ······/˘······· |
| I don' keer ef I is soakin', laigs, an' back, an' naik, an' feet, | 15 | ··············· |
| It 's de spo't I 's lookin' aftah. Hit 's de pleasure an' de fun, | 18 | ······/˘·····/˘··· |
| Dough I knows dat Lizy 's waitin' wid de skillet w'en I's done. | 16 | ·······/˘··/˘··· |
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.