Two Little Boots
Two little boots all rough an' wo',Two little boots!Law, I 's kissed 'em times befo',Dese little boots!Seems de toes a-peepin' thooDis hyeah hole an' sayin' "Boo!"Evah time dey looks at you--Dese little boots.
Membah de time he put 'em on,Dese little boots;Riz an' called fu' 'em by dawn,Dese little boots;Den he tromped de livelong day,Laffin' in his happy way,Evaht'ing he had to say,"My little boots!"
Kickin' de san' de whole day long,Dem little boots;Good de cobblah made 'em strong,Dem little boots!Rocks was fu' dat baby's use,I'on had to stan' abuseW'en you tu'ned dese champeens loose,Dese little boots!
Ust to make de ol' cat cry,Dese little boots;Den you walked it mighty high,Proud little boots!Ahms akimbo, stan'in' wide,Eyes a-sayin' "Dis is pride!"Den de manny-baby stride!You little boots.
Somehow, you don' seem so gay,Po' little boots,Sence yo' ownah went erway,Po' little boots!Yo' bright tops don' look so red,Dese brass tips is dull an' dead;"Goo'-by," whut de baby said;Deah little boots!
Ain't you kin' o' sad yo'se'f,You little boots?Dis is all his mammy 's lef',Two little boots.Sence huh baby gone an' died.Heav'n itse'f hit seem to hideDes a little bit insideTwo little boots.
Words in this poem
- livelong a.
- Whole; entire; long in passing; -- used of time, as day or night, in adverbial phrases, and usually with a sense of tediousness. [For lifelong. Cf. Lifelong.]
- akimbo a.
- With a crook or bend; with the hand on the hip and elbow turned outward. [Etymology unknown. Cf. Kimbo.]
- stride v. t.
- To walk with long steps, especially in a measured or pompous manner. [AS. stridan to stride, to strive; akin to LG. striden, OFries. strida to strive, D. strijden to strive, to contend, G. streiten, OHG. stritan; of uncertain orig]
- somehow adv.
- In one way or another; in some way not yet known or designated; by some means; as, the thing must be done somehow; he lives somehow.
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- mammy n.
- A child's name for mamma, mother.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Two Little Boots 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, Two Little Boots, in The Complete Poems (1893–1905), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #18338, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/dunbar-poems/two-little-boots.html, id L00700.
Form and metre
Two Little Boots is 48 lines in 6 stanzas of 8 lines each. The rhyme scheme is ABABCCCB, complete in 3 of its 6 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 89%). 99% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 6.1 syllables. 2 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 8% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in iambic tetrameter.
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 -A-ABBBA wo · bootsA · befo · bootsA · thooB · booB · youB · bootsA
- 2 ABABCCCB onA · bootsB · dawnA · bootsB · dayC · wayC · sayC · bootsB
- 3 ABABCCCB longA · bootsB · strongA · bootsB · useC · abuseC · looseC · bootsB
- 4 ABABCCCB cryA · bootsB · highA · bootsB · wideC · prideC · strideC · bootsB
- 5 -A-ABBBA gay · bootsA · erway · bootsA · redB · deadB · saidB · bootsA
- 6 -A-ABBBA yo'se'f · bootsA · lef · bootsA · diedB · hideB · insideB · bootsA
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 iambic tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Two little boots all rough an' wo', | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Two little boots! | 4 | ·/˘· |
| Law, I 's kissed 'em times befo', | 8 | ········ |
| Dese little boots! | 4 | ·/˘· |
| Seems de toes a-peepin' thoo | 7 | ······· |
| Dis hyeah hole an' sayin' "Boo!" | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Evah time dey looks at you-- | 7 | ······· |
| Dese little boots. | 4 | ·/˘· |
| Membah de time he put 'em on, | 8 | ········ |
| Dese little boots; | 4 | ·/˘· |
| Riz an' called fu' 'em by dawn, | 7 | ······· |
| Dese little boots; | 4 | ·/˘· |
| Den he tromped de livelong day, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Laffin' in his happy way, | 7 | /˘··/˘· |
| Evaht'ing he had to say, | 7 | ······· |
| "My little boots!" | 4 | ·/˘· |
| Kickin' de san' de whole day long, | 8 | ········ |
| Dem little boots; | 4 | ·/˘· |
| Good de cobblah made 'em strong, | 7 | ······· |
| Dem little boots! | 4 | ·/˘· |
| Rocks was fu' dat baby's use, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| I'on had to stan' abuse | 7 | /˘···˘/ |
| W'en you tu'ned dese champeens loose, | 7 | ······· |
| Dese little boots! | 4 | ·/˘· |
| Ust to make de ol' cat cry, | 7 | ······· |
| Dese little boots; | 4 | ·/˘· |
| Den you walked it mighty high, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Proud little boots! | 4 | ·/˘· |
| Ahms akimbo, stan'in' wide, | 7 | ·˘/···· |
| Eyes a-sayin' "Dis is pride!" | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Den de manny-baby stride! | 7 | ··/˘/˘· |
| You little boots. | 4 | ·/˘· |
| Somehow, you don' seem so gay, | 7 | /······ |
| Po' little boots, | 4 | ·/˘· |
| Sence yo' ownah went erway, | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Po' little boots! | 4 | ·/˘· |
| Yo' bright tops don' look so red, | 7 | ······· |
| Dese brass tips is dull an' dead; | 7 | ······· |
| "Goo'-by," whut de baby said; | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Deah little boots! | 4 | ·/˘· |
| Ain't you kin' o' sad yo'se'f, | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| You little boots? | 4 | ·/˘· |
| Dis is all his mammy 's lef', | 8 | ····/˘·· |
| Two little boots. | 4 | ·/˘· |
| Sence huh baby gone an' died. | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Heav'n itse'f hit seem to hide | 7 | ······· |
| Des a little bit inside | 7 | ··/˘·˘/ |
| Two little boots. | 4 | ·/˘· |
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.