A Southern Lullaby

Virna Sheard 1862 (Cobourg) – 1943 ( Toronto)



Little honey baby, shet yo' eyes up tight; -
(Shadow-man is comin' from de moon!) -
You's as sweet as roses if dey is so pink an white;
(Shadow-man '11 get here mighty soon.)
  
Little honey baby, keep yo' footses still! -
(Rocky-bye, oh, rocky, rocky-bye!)
Hush yo' now, an listen to dat lonesome whippo'-will;
Don't yo' fix yo' lip an start to cry.
  
Little honey baby, stop dat winkin' quick!;
(Hear de hoot-owl in de cotton-wood!)
Yess - I sees yo' eyes adoin' dat dere triflin' trick -
(He gets chillun if dey isn't good.)
  
Little honey baby, what yo' think yo' see? -
(Sister keep on climbin' to de sky - )
Dat's a June bug - it aint got no stinger, lak a bee -
(Reach de glory city by an by.)
  
Little honey baby, what yo' skeery at? -
(Go down, Moses - down to Phar-e-oh,) -
No - dat isn't nuffin but a furry fly-round bat; -
(Say, he'd betta let dose people go.)
  
Little honey baby, yo' is all ma own, -
Deed yo' is. - Yes, - dat's a fia-fly; -
If I didn't hab yo' - reckon I'd be all alone;
(Rocky-bye - oh, rocky, rocky-bye.)
  
Little honey baby, shet yo' eyes up tight; -
(Shadow man is comin' from de moon,)
You's as sweet as roses, if dey is so pink and white;
(Shadow-man '11 get here mighty soon.)
  
  
The lines in brackets are supposed to be sung or chanted.
The Southern "Mammy" seldom sang a song through, but interladed it with comments. - V.S.
Font size:
Collection  PDF     
 

Submitted on August 03, 2020

Modified on March 05, 2023

1:28 min read
4

Quick analysis:

Scheme AbaB cdcd efef gdgd hihi jdjd AbaB xx
Closest metre Iambic hexameter
Characters 1,344
Words 284
Stanzas 8
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 2

Virna Sheard

Virginia Sheard (April 24, 1862 – February 22, 1943) was a Canadian poet and novelist. She also wrote under the name Stanton Sheard. more…

All Virna Sheard poems | Virna Sheard Books

0 fans

Discuss the poem A Southern Lullaby 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 Southern Lullaby" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Mar. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/56884/a-southern-lullaby>.

    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!

    March 2024

    Poetry Contest

    Join our monthly contest for an opportunity to win cash prizes and attain global acclaim for your talent.
    2
    days
    19
    hours
    34
    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?

    »
    "I walk down the garden paths, and all the daffodils are blowing"
    A Emily Dickinson
    B Amy Lowell
    C Elizabeth Barrett Browning
    D Gwendolyn Brooks