POSSUM

From the book
HOWDY HONEY HOWDY
by Paul Laurence Dunbar

Copyright 1896, 1899, 1903, and 1905
by Dodd, Meade & Company,
Published October, 1905



EF dey's anyt'ing dat riles me
  An' jes' gits me out o' hitch,
Twell I want to tek my coat off,
  So's to r'ar an' t'ar an' pitch,
Hit's to see some ign'ant white man
  'Mittin' dat owdacious sin--
W'en he want to cook a possum
  Tekin' off de possum's skin.

W'y, dey ain't no use in talkin',
  Hit jes' hu'ts me to de haht
Fu' to see dem foolish people
  Th'owin' 'way de fines' paht.
W'y, dat skin is jes' ez tendah
  An' ez juicy ez kin be;
I knows all erbout de critter--
  Hide an' haih--don't talk to me!

Possum skin is jes' lak shoat skin;
  Jes' you swinge an' scrope it down,
Tek a good sha'p knife an' sco' it,
  Den you bake it good an' brown.
Huh-uh! honey, you's so happy
  Dat yo' thoughts is 'mos' a sin
When you's settin' dah a-chawin'
  On dat possum's cracklin' skin.

White folks t'nk dey know 'bout eatin',
  An' I reckon dat dey do
Sometimes git a little idee
  Of a miedlin' dish er two;
But dey ain't a t'ing dey knows of
  Dat I rekon cain't be beat
W'en we set down at de table
  To a unskun possum's meat!




Fine print: background tile on this page from a graphic on The Possum Network, an excellent compendium of possum information. Used with permission. Do NOT copy, All other graphics © KAT Moser 2001 and are not to be used for commercial purposes or on other web sites. More of Mr. Dunbar's compositions can be seen at Paul Lawrence Dunbar Digital Text Connection.

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Posted September 7, 2001

URL: DaBillyClub.com/billy/Possum.html