Wadin' in De Crick
Days git wa'm an' wa'mah,School gits mighty dull,Seems lak dese hyeah teachahsMus' feel mussiful.Hookey's wrong, I know itAin't no gent'man's trick;But de aih's a-callin',"Come on to de crick."
Dah de watah's gu'glin'Ovah shiny stones,Des hit's ve'y singin'Seems to soothe yo' bones.Wat's de use o' waitin'Go on good an' quick:Dain't no fun lak dis hyeahWadin' in de crick.
W'at dat jay-b'ud sayin'?Bettah shet yo' haid,Fus' t'ing dat you fin' out,You'll be layin' daid.Jay-bu'ds sich a tattlah,Des seem lak his trickFu' to tell on folksesWadin' in de crick.
Wilier boughs a-bendin'Hidin' of de sky,Wavin' kin' o' frien'lyEz de win' go by,Elum trees a-shinin',Dahk an' green an' thick,Seem to say, "I see yo'Wadin' in de crick."
But de trees don' chattah,Dey des look an' sighLak hit's kin' o' peacefulDes a-bein' nigh,An' yo' t'ank yo' MastahDat dey trunks is thickW'en yo' mammy fin's youWadin' in de crick.
Den yo' run behin' demLak yo' scaihed to def,Mammy come a-flyin',Mos' nigh out o' bref;But she set down gentleAn' she drap huh stick,--An' fus' t'ing, dey's mammyWadin' in de crick.
Words in this poem
- crick n.
- The creaking of a door, or a noise resembling it. [See Creak.]
- shiny a.
- Bright; luminous; clear; unclouded.
- soothe v. t.
- To assent to as true. Testament of Love. [Originally, to assent to as true; OE. so to verify, AS. ges to prove the truth of, to bear witness. See Sooth, a.]
- mammy n.
- A child's name for mamma, mother.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Wadin' in De Crick 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, Wadin' in De Crick, in The Complete Poems (1893–1905), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #18338, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/dunbar-poems/wadin-in-de-crick.html, id L00813.
Form and metre
Wadin' in De Crick is 48 lines in 6 stanzas of 8 lines each. The metre is trochaic trimeter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 85%). 100% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 5.4 syllables. 7 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 29% 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 -----A-A wa'mah · dull · teachahs · mussiful · it · trickA · callin · crickA
- 2 ABABAC-C gu'glinA · stonesB · singinA · bonesB · waitinA · quickC · hyeah · crickC
- 3 -A-A-B-B sayin · haidA · out · daidA · tattlah · trickB · folkses · crickB
- 4 AB-BAC-C bendinA · skyB · frien'ly · byB · shininA · thickC · yo · crickC
- 5 AB-BAC-C chattahA · sighB · peaceful · nighB · mastahA · thickC · you · crickC
- 6 -A-A-B-B dem · defA · flyin · brefA · gentle · stickB · mammy · crickB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Days git wa'm an' wa'mah, | 6 | ······ |
| School gits mighty dull, | 5 | ··/˘· |
| Seems lak dese hyeah teachahs | 6 | ······ |
| Mus' feel mussiful. | 5 | ····· |
| Hookey's wrong, I know it | 6 | ······ |
| Ain't no gent'man's trick; | 5 | ····· |
| But de aih's a-callin', | 6 | ······ |
| "Come on to de crick." | 5 | ····· |
| Dah de watah's gu'glin' | 6 | ······ |
| Ovah shiny stones, | 5 | ··/˘· |
| Des hit's ve'y singin' | 5 | ···/˘ |
| Seems to soothe yo' bones. | 5 | ····· |
| Wat's de use o' waitin' | 6 | ····/˘ |
| Go on good an' quick: | 5 | ····· |
| Dain't no fun lak dis hyeah | 6 | ······ |
| Wadin' in de crick. | 5 | ····· |
| W'at dat jay-b'ud sayin'? | 6 | ····/˘ |
| Bettah shet yo' haid, | 5 | ····· |
| Fus' t'ing dat you fin' out, | 6 | ······ |
| You'll be layin' daid. | 4 | ···· |
| Jay-bu'ds sich a tattlah, | 6 | ······ |
| Des seem lak his trick | 5 | ····· |
| Fu' to tell on folkses | 6 | ····/˘ |
| Wadin' in de crick. | 5 | ····· |
| Wilier boughs a-bendin' | 6 | ······ |
| Hidin' of de sky, | 5 | ····· |
| Wavin' kin' o' frien'ly | 6 | ······ |
| Ez de win' go by, | 5 | ····· |
| Elum trees a-shinin', | 6 | ······ |
| Dahk an' green an' thick, | 5 | ····· |
| Seem to say, "I see yo' | 6 | ······ |
| Wadin' in de crick." | 5 | ····· |
| But de trees don' chattah, | 6 | ······ |
| Dey des look an' sigh | 5 | ····· |
| Lak hit's kin' o' peaceful | 6 | ····/˘ |
| Des a-bein' nigh, | 5 | ··/˘· |
| An' yo' t'ank yo' Mastah | 6 | ······ |
| Dat dey trunks is thick | 5 | ····· |
| W'en yo' mammy fin's you | 6 | ··/˘·· |
| Wadin' in de crick. | 5 | ····· |
| Den yo' run behin' dem | 6 | ······ |
| Lak yo' scaihed to def, | 5 | ····· |
| Mammy come a-flyin', | 5 | /˘··· |
| Mos' nigh out o' bref; | 5 | ····· |
| But she set down gentle | 6 | ····/˘ |
| An' she drap huh stick,-- | 5 | ····· |
| An' fus' t'ing, dey's mammy | 6 | ····/˘ |
| Wadin' in de crick. | 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.