James Weldon Johnson

Name: Fifty Years, & Other Poems
Author: James Weldon Johnson

Summary

“Fifty Years, & Other Poems”, is a work by James Weldon Johnson. It explores elements such as W'en, fu and Brudder 'Possum.

Quotes from Fifty Years, & Other Poems (James Weldon Johnson)

James Weldon Johnson, Fifty Years, & Other Poems

“ He gathers together a group of lyrics, delicate in workmanship, fragrant with sentiment, and phrased in pure and unexceptionable English. Then he has another group of dialect verses, racy of the soil, pungent in flavor, swinging in rhythm and adroit in rhyme. But where he shows himself a pioneer is the half-dozen larger and bolder poems, of a loftier strain, in which he has been nobly successful in expressing the higher aspirations of his own people. ”

[↩︎]

Source: Gutenberg

James Weldon Johnson, Fifty Years, & Other Poems

“ In poetry, especially in the lyric, wherein the soul is free to find full expression for its innermost emotions, their attempts have been, for the most part, divisible into two classes. In the first of these may be grouped the verses in which the lyrist put forth sentiments common to all mankind and in no wise specifically those of his own race; and from the days of Phyllis Wheatley to the present the most of the poems written by men who were not wholly white are indistinguishable from the poems written by men who were wholly white. ”

[↩︎]

Source: Gutenberg

James Weldon Johnson, Fifty Years, & Other Poems

“ Eternities before the first-born day,
Or ere the first sun fledged his wings of flame,
Calm Night, the everlasting and the same,
A brooding mother over chaos lay. ”

[↩︎]

Source: Gutenberg

James Weldon Johnson, Fifty Years, & Other Poems

“ I want no sweeter heaven than your breast.
When over my life's way there falls the blight
Of sunless days, and nights of starless skies;
Enough for me, the calm and steadfast light
That softly shines within your loving eyes.
The world, for me, and all the world can hold
Is circled by your arms; for me there lies,
Within the lights and shadows of your eyes,
The only beauty that is never old. ”

[↩︎]

Source: Gutenberg

James Weldon Johnson, Fifty Years, & Other Poems

“ And I have laughed to see a crying babe tug at the shriveling breast
Of its mother, dead and cold.
I have heard the cries and prayers of men go up to a tearless sky,
And fall back upon an earth of ashes;
But, heedless, I have gone on with my work.
'Tis thus, O, Prince, that I have scourged mankind."
And Satan nodded his head.
Pale Pestilence, with stenchful breath, then spoke and said,—
"Great Prince, my brother, Famine, attacks the poor.
[38] He is most terrible against the helpless and the old. ”

[↩︎]

Source: Gutenberg

James Weldon Johnson, Fifty Years, & Other Poems

“ I am a thing not new, I am as old
As human nature. I am that which lurks,
Ready to spring whenever a bar is loosed;
The ancient trait which fights incessantly
Against restraint, balks at the upward climb;
The weight forever seeking to obey
The law of downward pull;—and I am more:
The bitter fruit am I of planted seed;
The resultant, the inevitable end
Of evil forces and the powers of wrong. ”

[↩︎]

Source: Gutenberg

James Weldon Johnson, Fifty Years, & Other Poems

“ But in the lyrics to be grouped in the second of these classes there was a racial quality. This contained the dialect verses in which there was an avowed purpose of recapturing the color, the flavor, the movement of life in "the quarters," in the cotton field and in the canebrake. Even in this effort, white authors had led the way; Irvin Russell and Joel Chandler Harris had made the path straight for Paul Laurence Dunbar, with his lilting lyrics, often infused with the pathos of a down-trodden folk. ”

[↩︎]

Source: Gutenberg

James Weldon Johnson, Fifty Years, & Other Poems

“ The most important and the most significant contributions they have made to art are in music,—first in the plaintive beauty of the so-called "Negro spirituals"—and, secondly, in the syncopated melody of so-called "ragtime" which has now taken the whole world captive. ”

[↩︎]

Source: Gutenberg

James Weldon Johnson, Fifty Years, & Other Poems

“ Of the hundred millions who make up the population of the United States ten millions come from a stock ethnically alien to the other ninety millions. They are not descended from ancestors who came here voluntarily, in the spirit of adventure to better themselves or in the spirit of devotion to make sure of freedom to worship God in their own way. They are the grandchildren of men and women brought here against their wills to serve as slaves. ”

[↩︎]

Source: Gutenberg

James Weldon Johnson, Fifty Years, & Other Poems

“ You sang far better than you knew; the songs
That for your listeners' hungry hearts sufficed
Still live,—but more than this to you belongs:
You sang a race from wood and stone to Christ. ”

[↩︎]

Source: Gutenberg

James Weldon Johnson, Fifty Years, & Other Poems

“ When we take stock of ourselves these ten millions cannot be left out of account. Yet they are not as we are; they stand apart, more or less; they have their own distinct characteristics. It behooves us to understand them as best we can and to discover what manner of people they are. ”

[↩︎]

Source: Gutenberg

James Weldon Johnson, Fifty Years, & Other Poems

“ Skin as black an' jes as sof' as a velvet dress,
Teeth as white as ivory—well dey is I guess.
Eyes dat's jes as big an' bright as de evenin' star;
An' dat hol' some sort o' light lublier by far.
Hair don't hang 'way down her back; plaited up in rows;
Wid de two en's dat's behin' tied wid ribben bows.
Han's dat raly wuz'n made fu' hard work, I'm sho';
Got a little bit o' foot; weahs a numbah fo'.
You jes oughtah see dat gal Sunday's w'en she goes
To de Baptis' meetin' house, dressed in her bes' clo'es.
W'en she puts her w'ite dress on an' othah things so fine ”

[↩︎]

Source: Gutenberg

James Weldon Johnson, Fifty Years, & Other Poems

“ The glory of the day was in her face,
The beauty of the night was in her eyes. ”

[↩︎]

Source: Gutenberg

James Weldon Johnson, Fifty Years, & Other Poems

“ De river is a-glistenin' in de moonlight,
De owl is set'n high up in de tree;
De little stars am twinklin' wid a sof' light,
De night seems only jes fu' you an' me.
Thoo de trees de breezes am a-sighin',
Breathin' out a sort o' lover's croon,
Der's nobody lookin' or a-spyin',
Nobody but de owl an' de moon.
Nobody's lookin' but de owl an' de moon,
An' de night is balmy; fu' de month is June;
Come den, Honey, won't you? Come to meet me soon,
Wile nobody's lookin' but de owl an' de moon.
I feel so kinder lonely all de daytime,
It seems I raly don't know what to do ”

[↩︎]

Source: Gutenberg

James Weldon Johnson, Fifty Years, & Other Poems

“ FATHER, FATHER ABRAHAM (On the Anniversary of Lincoln's Birth)
Father, Father Abraham,
To-day look on us from above;
On us, the offspring of thy faith,
The children of thy Christ-like love. ”

[↩︎]

Source: Gutenberg

James Weldon Johnson, Fifty Years, & Other Poems

“ W'en you sees a darkey goin' to de fiel' as soon as light,
Followin' a mule across it f'om de mawnin' tel de night,
Wukin' all his life fu' vittles, hoein' 'tween de cott'n rows,
W'en he knocks off ole an' tiah'd, ownin' nut'n but his clo'es,
You kin put it down to ignunce, aftah all what's done an' said,
You kin bet dat dat same darkey ain't got nut'n in his head.
Ain't you seed dem w'ite men set'n in der awfice? Don't you know
Dey goes der 'bout nine each mawnin? Bless yo' soul, dey's out by fo'.
Dey jes does a little writin'; does dat by some easy means ”

[↩︎]

Source: Gutenberg

James Weldon Johnson, Fifty Years, & Other Poems

“ Some men enjoy the constant strife
Of days with work and worry rife,
But that is not my dream of life:
I think such men are crazy. ”

[↩︎]

Source: Gutenberg

James Weldon Johnson, Fifty Years, & Other Poems

“ W'en ole Mister Sun gits tiah'd a-hangin'
High up in de sky;
W'en der ain't no thunder and light'nin' a-bangin',
An' de crap's done all laid by;
W'en yo' bones ain't achin' wid de rheumatics,
Den yo' ride de mule to town,
Git a great big jug o' de ole corn juice,
An' w'en you drink her down—
Jes lay away ole Trouble,
An' dry up all yo' tears;
Yo' pleasure sho' to double
An' you bound to lose yo' keers. ”

[↩︎]

Source: Gutenberg

James Weldon Johnson, Fifty Years, & Other Poems

“ And Satan smiled, stretched out his hand, and said,—
"O War, of all the scourges of humanity, I crown you chief." ”

[↩︎]

Source: Gutenberg

James Weldon Johnson, Fifty Years, & Other Poems

“ W'ile I'm t'inkin' you is lahnin' in de school, why bless ma soul!
You off in de woods a-playin'. Can't you do like you is tole?
Boy, I tell you, it's jes scan'lous d'way dat you is goin' on.
An' you sholy go'n be sorry, jes as true as you is bo'n.
Heah I'm tryin' hard to raise you as a credit to dis race,
An' you tryin' heap much harder fu' to come up in disgrace.
[67]
Dese de days w'en men don't git up to de top by hooks an' crooks ”

[↩︎]

Source: Gutenberg

James Weldon Johnson, Fifty Years, & Other Poems

“ I'm back down in ole Georgy w'ere de sun is shinin' hot,
W'ere de cawn it is a-tasslin', gittin' ready fu' de pot;
W'ere de cott'n is a-openin' an' a-w'itenin' in de sun,
An' de ripenin' o' de sugah-cane is mighty nigh begun.
An' de locus' is a-singin' f'om eveh bush an' tree,
An' you kin heah de hummin' o' de noisy bumblebee;
An' de mule he stan's a-dreamin' an' a-dreamin' in de lot,
An' de sun it is a-shinin' mighty hot, hot, hot.
But evehbody is a-restin', fu' de craps is all laid by,
An' time fu' de camp-meetin' is a-drawin' purty nigh ”

[↩︎]

Source: Gutenberg

James Weldon Johnson, Fifty Years, & Other Poems

“ O black and unknown bards of long ago,
How came your lips to touch the sacred fire?
How, in your darkness, did you come to know
The power and beauty of the minstrel's lyre? ”

[↩︎]

Source: Gutenberg

James Weldon Johnson, Fifty Years, & Other Poems

“ They are now American citizens, with the rights and the duties of other American citizens; and they know no language, no literature and no law other than those of their fellow citizens of Anglo-Saxon ancestry. ”

[↩︎]

Source: Gutenberg

James Weldon Johnson, Fifty Years, & Other Poems

“ You's sweet to yo' mammy jes de same;
Dat's why she calls you Honey fu' yo' name.
Yo' face is black, dat's true,
An' yo' hair is woolly, too,
But, you's sweet to yo' mammy jes de same.
Up der in de big house w'ere dey lib so rich an' gran'
Dey's got chillen dat dey lubs, I s'pose;
Chillen dat is purty, oh, but dey can't lub dem mo'
Dan yo' mammy lubs you, heaben knows!
[71]
Dey may t'ink you's homely, an' yo' clo'es dey may be po',
But yo' shinin' eyes, dey hol's a light
Dat, my Honey, w'en you opens dem so big an' roun',
Makes you lubly in yo' mammy's sight. ”

[↩︎]

Source: Gutenberg

James Weldon Johnson, Fifty Years, & Other Poems

“ W'en de leaves begin to fall,
An' de fros' is on de ground,
An' de 'simmons is a-ripenin' on de tree;
W'en I heah de dinner call,
An' de chillen gadder 'round,
'Tis den de 'possum is de meat fu' me. ”

[↩︎]

Source: Gutenberg

James Weldon Johnson, Fifty Years, & Other Poems

“ Whose starward eye
Saw chariot "swing low"? And who was he
That breathed that comforting, melodic sigh,
"Nobody knows de trouble I see"? ”

[↩︎]

Source: Gutenberg

James Weldon Johnson, Fifty Years, & Other Poems

“ How would you have us, as we are?
Or sinking 'neath the load we bear?
Our eyes fixed forward on a star?
Or gazing empty at despair? ”

[↩︎]

Source: Gutenberg

James Weldon Johnson, Fifty Years, & Other Poems

“ De trouble is, some people don't ax de proper way,
Den w'en dey git's no answer dey doubts de use to pray.
You got to use egzac'ly de 'spressions an' de words
To show dat 'tween yo' faith an' works, you 'pends on works two-thirds.
Now, one time I remember—jes how long I won't say—
I thought I'd like a turkey to eat on Chris'mus day.
Fu' weeks I dreamed 'bout turkeys, a-struttin' in der pride;
But seed no way to get one—widout de Lawd pervide.
An' so I went to prayin', I pray'd wid all my might;
[76] "Lawd, sen' to me a turkey." I pray'd bofe day an' night. ”

[↩︎]

Source: Gutenberg

James Weldon Johnson, Fifty Years, & Other Poems

“ An' we's put away de ploughshare, an' we's done hung up de spade,
An' we's eatin' watermelon, an' a-layin' in de shade.
[74]
A BANJO SONG
W'en de banjos wuz a-ringin',
An' de darkies wuz a-singin',
Oh, wuzen dem de good times sho!
All de ole folks would be chattin',
An' de pickaninnies pattin',
As dey heah'd de feet a-shufflin' 'cross de flo'.
An' how we'd dance, an' how we'd sing! ”

[↩︎]

Source: Gutenberg

James Weldon Johnson, Fifty Years, & Other Poems

“ Dat, perhaps, wid some persuasion, I could make dat mule ma fren'.
An' I jes kep' on a-thinkin', an' I kep' a-lookin' 'roun',
Tel I spied two great big san' spurs right close by me on de groun'.
[90]
Well, I took dem spurs an' put em underneat' o' Cæsar's saddle,
So dey'd press down in his backbone soon ez Sam had got a-straddle.
'Twuz a pretty ticklish job, an' jes ez soon ez it wuz done,
I went back w'ere I wuz set'n fu' to wait an' see de fun.
Purty soon heah come de people, jes a-swa'min' out de do',
Talkin' 'bout de "pow'ful sermon"—"nevah heah'd de likes befo'." ”

[↩︎]

Source: Gutenberg

James Weldon Johnson, Fifty Years, & Other Poems

“ She wuz jes de greates' 'traction in de county, 'n bless de lam'!
Eveh darkey wuz a-co'tin, but it lay 'twix me an' Sam.
You know Sam. We both wuz wukin' on de ole John Tompkin's place.
'N evehbody wuz a-watchin' t'see who's gwine to win de race.
Hee! hee! hee! Now you mus' raley 'scuse me fu' dis snickering,
But I jes can't he'p f'om laffin' eveh time I tells dis thing.
[85]
Ez I wuz a-sayin', me an' Sam wuked daily side by side,
He a-studyin', me a-studyin', how to win Lize fu' a bride.
Well, de race was kinder equal, Lize wuz sorter on de fence ”

[↩︎]

Source: Gutenberg

James Weldon Johnson, Fifty Years, & Other Poems

“ Der wuz twelve ole chicken thieves
In dis heah town, includin' me.
Ef he tole you dat, my brudder,
He said sump'n dat warn't true;
W'at I said wuz dis, dat der wuz
Twelve, widout includin' you.
Oh!...!—
[83]
DE LITTLE PICKANINNY'S GONE TO SLEEP
Cuddle down, ma honey, in yo' bed,
Go to sleep an' res' yo' little head,
Been a-kind o' ailin' all de day?
Didn't have no sperit fu' to play?
Never min'; to-morrer, w'en you wek,
Daddy's gwine to ride you on his bek,
'Roun' an' roun' de cabin flo' so fas'—
Der! He's closed his little eyes at las'. ”

[↩︎]

Source: Gutenberg

James Weldon Johnson, Fifty Years, & Other Poems

“ W'en de good ole summer sun begins to shine;
Oh! my thoughts den tek a turn,
An' my heart begins to yearn
Fo' dat watermelon growin' on de vine.
Now, de yeah will sholy bring
'Round a season fu' us all,
Ev'y one kin pick his season f'om de res';
But de melon in de spring,
An' de 'possum in de fall,
Mek it hard to tell which time o' year am bes'.
[79]
'POSSUM SONG (A Warning)
'Simmons ripenin' in de fall,
You better run,
Brudder 'Possum, run!
Mockin' bird commence to call,
You better run, Brudder 'Possum, git out de way!
You better run, Brudder 'Possum, git out de way! ”

[↩︎]

Source: Gutenberg

James Weldon Johnson, Fifty Years, & Other Poems

“ Fixin' fu' de openin' Sunday, prayin' dat de day'd be fair.
[86]
Dat de Reveren' Jasper Jones of Mount Moriah, it wuz 'low'd,
Wuz to preach de openin' sermon; so you know der wuz a crowd.
Fu' dat man wuz sho a preacher; had a voice jes like a bull;
So der ain't no use in sayin' dat de meetin' house wuz full.
Folks wuz der f'om Big Pine Hollow, some come 'way f'om Muddy Creek,
Some come jes to stay fu' Sunday, but de crowd stay'd thoo de week.
Some come ridin' in top-buggies wid de w'eels all painted red,
Pulled by mules dat run like rabbits, each one tryin' to git ahead. ”

[↩︎]

Source: Gutenberg

James Weldon Johnson, Fifty Years, & Other Poems

“ But de bigges' crowd come walkin', wid der new shoes on der backs;
'Scuse wuz dat dey couldn't weah em 'cause de heels wuz full o' tacks.
[87]
Fact is, it's a job for Job, a-trudgin' in de sun an' heat,
Down a long an' dusty clay road wid yo' shoes packed full o' feet.
'Cose dey stopt an' put dem shoes on w'en dey got mos' to de do';
Den dey had to grin an' bear it; dat tuk good religion sho.
But I mos' forgot ma story,—well at las' dat Sunday came
And it seemed dat evehbody, blin' an' deef, an' halt an' lame,
Wuz out in de grove a-waitin' fu' de meetin' to begin ”

[↩︎]

Source: Gutenberg

James Weldon Johnson, Fifty Years, & Other Poems

“ Sam he had de mostes dollars, an' I had de mostes sense.
Things dey run along 'bout eben tel der come Big Meetin' day;
Sam den thought, to win Miss Liza, he had foun' de shoest way.
An' you talk about big meetin's! None been like it 'fore nor sence;
Der wuz sich a crowd o' people dat we had to put up tents.
Der wuz preachers f'om de Eas', an' 'der wuz preachers f'om de Wes';
Folks had kilt mos' eveh chicken, an' wuz fattenin' up de res'. ”

[↩︎]

Source: Gutenberg

James Weldon Johnson, Fifty Years, & Other Poems

“ Ef dat crowd had got converted 'twould a been de end o' sin.
Lize wuz der in all her glory, purty ez a big sunflowah,
I kin 'member how she looked jes same ez 'twuz dis ve'y houah.
But to make ma story shorter, w'ile we wuz a-waitin' der,
Down de road we spied a cloud o' dus' dat filled up all de air. ”

[↩︎]

Source: Gutenberg

James Weldon Johnson, Fifty Years, & Other Poems

“ Dance tel de day done break.
An' how dem banjos dey would ring,
An' de cabin flo' would shake!
Come along, come along,
Come along, come along,
Don't you heah dem banjos a-ringin'?
Gib a song, gib a song,
Gib a song, gib a song,
Git yo' feet fixed up fu' a-wingin'.
W'ile de banjos dey go plunka, plunka, plunk,
We'll dance tel de ole flo' shake;
W'ile de feet keep a-goin' chooka, chooka, chook,
We'll dance tel de day done break.
[75]
ANSWER TO PRAYER
Der ain't no use in sayin' de Lawd won't answer prah ”

[↩︎]

Source: Gutenberg

James Weldon Johnson, Fifty Years, & Other Poems

“ Sam, on Marse John's big mule, Cæsar, rode right slam up in de crowd.
You jes oughtah seed dat darkey, 'clar I like tah loss ma bref;
Fu' to use a common 'spression, he wuz 'bout nigh dressed to def. ”

James Weldon Johnson

Summary

Quotes from Fifty Years, & Other Poems (James Weldon Johnson)

Common terms

Similar works

Get perspective with Kwize: daily news enlightened by great literature