Dey is times in life when Nature <br /> Seems to slip a cog an' go, <br /> Jes' a-rattlin' down creation, <br /> Lak an ocean's overflow; <br /> When de worl' jes' stahts a-spinnin' <br /> Lak a picaninny's top, <br /> An' yo' cup o' joy is brimmin' <br /> 'Twell it seems about to slop, <br /> An' you feel jes' lak a racah, <br /> Dat is trainin' fu' to trot-- <br /> When yo' mammy says de blessin' <br /> An' de co'n pone's hot. <br /> <br /> When you set down at de table, <br /> Kin' o' weary lak an' sad, <br /> An' you 'se jes' a little tiahed <br /> An' purhaps a little mad; <br /> How yo' gloom tu'ns into gladness, <br /> How yo' joy drives out de doubt <br /> When de oven do' is opened, <br /> An' de smell comes po'in' out; <br /> Why, de 'lectric light o' Heaven <br /> Seems to settle on de spot, <br /> When yo' mammy says de blessin' <br /> An' de co'n pone's hot. <br /> <br /> When de cabbage pot is steamin' <br /> An' de bacon good an' fat, <br /> When de chittlins is a-sputter'n' <br /> So's to show you whah dey's at; <br /> Tek away yo' sody biscuit, <br /> Tek away yo' cake an' pie, <br /> Fu' de glory time is comin', <br /> An' it's 'proachin' mighty nigh, <br /> An' you want to jump an' hollah, <br /> Dough you know you'd bettah not, <br /> When yo' mammy says de blessin' <br /> An' de co'n pone's hot. <br /> <br /> I have hyeahd a' lots o' sermons, <br /> An' I've hyeahd o' lots o' prayers, <br /> An I've listened to some singin' <br /> Dat has tuck me up de stairs <br /> Of de Glory-Lan' an' set me <br /> Jes' below de Mastah's th'one, <br /> An' have lef' my hea't a-singin' <br /> In a happy aftah tone; <br /> But dem wu'ds so sweetly murmured <br /> Seem to tech de softes' spot, <br /> When my mammy says de blessin', <br /> An' de co'n pone's hot.<br /><br />Paul Laurence Dunbar<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/when-de-co-n-pone-s-hot/
