A Negro Love Song

Paul Laurence Dunbar 1872 (Dayton) – 1906



Seen my lady home las' night,  
   Jump back, honey, jump back.
  Hel' huh han' an' sque'z it tight,
   Jump back, honey, jump back.
  Hyeahd huh sigh a little sigh,
  Seen a light gleam f'om huh eye,
  An' a smile go flittin' by --
   Jump back, honey, jump back.
  Hyeahd de win' blow thoo de pine,
  Jump back, honey, jump back.
 Mockin'-bird was singin' fine,
  Jump back, honey, jump back.
 An' my hea't was beatin' so,
 When I reached my lady's do',
 Dat I could n't ba' to go --
  Jump back, honey, jump back.

 Put my ahm aroun' huh wais',
  Jump back, honey, jump back.
 Raised huh lips an' took a tase,
  Jump back, honey, jump back.
 Love me, honey, love me true?
 Love me well ez I love you?
 An' she answe'd, "'Cose I do"--
  Jump back, honey, jump back.

Font size:
Collection  PDF     
 

Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

45 sec read
99

Quick analysis:

Scheme aBaBcccBdBdBefeB xBeBfffB
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 753
Words 143
Stanzas 2
Stanza Lengths 16, 8

Paul Laurence Dunbar

Paul Laurence Dunbar was a seminal American poet of the late 19th and early 20th centuries Dunbar gained national recognition for his 1896 Lyrics of a Lowly Life one poem in the collection being Ode to Ethiopia more…

All Paul Laurence Dunbar poems | Paul Laurence Dunbar Books

7 fans

Discuss the poem A Negro Love Song with the community...

0 Comments

    Translation

    Find a translation for this poem in other languages:

    Select another language:

    • - Select -
    • 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
    • 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
    • Español (Spanish)
    • Esperanto (Esperanto)
    • 日本語 (Japanese)
    • Português (Portuguese)
    • Deutsch (German)
    • العربية (Arabic)
    • Français (French)
    • Русский (Russian)
    • ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
    • 한국어 (Korean)
    • עברית (Hebrew)
    • Gaeilge (Irish)
    • Українська (Ukrainian)
    • اردو (Urdu)
    • Magyar (Hungarian)
    • मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
    • Indonesia (Indonesian)
    • Italiano (Italian)
    • தமிழ் (Tamil)
    • Türkçe (Turkish)
    • తెలుగు (Telugu)
    • ภาษาไทย (Thai)
    • Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
    • Čeština (Czech)
    • Polski (Polish)
    • Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
    • Românește (Romanian)
    • Nederlands (Dutch)
    • Ελληνικά (Greek)
    • Latinum (Latin)
    • Svenska (Swedish)
    • Dansk (Danish)
    • Suomi (Finnish)
    • فارسی (Persian)
    • ייִדיש (Yiddish)
    • հայերեն (Armenian)
    • Norsk (Norwegian)
    • English (English)

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this poem to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "A Negro Love Song" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 18 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/28623/a-negro-love-song>.

    Become a member!

    Join our community of poets and poetry lovers to share your work and offer feedback and encouragement to writers all over the world!

    More poems by

    Paul Laurence Dunbar

    »

    April 2024

    Poetry Contest

    Join our monthly contest for an opportunity to win cash prizes and attain global acclaim for your talent.
    12
    days
    13
    hours
    57
    minutes

    Special Program

    Earn Rewards!

    Unlock exciting rewards such as a free mug and free contest pass by commenting on fellow members' poems today!

    Browse Poetry.com

    Quiz

    Are you a poetry master?

    »
    In poetry, the word "foot" refers to _______.
    A a unit of 12 lines
    B a dozen poems
    C one stanza
    D two or more syllables