EF you's only got de powah fe' to blow a little whistle, <br />Keep ermong de people wid de whistles. <br />Ef you don't, you'll fin' out sho'tly dat you's th'owed yo' fines' feelin' <br />In a place dat's all a bed o' thistles. <br />'Tain't no use a-goin' now, ez sho's you bo'n, <br />A-squeakin' of yo' whistle 'g'inst a gread big ho'n. <br />Ef you ain't got but a teenchy bit o' victuals on de table, <br />Whut' de use a-claimin' hit's a feas'? <br />Fe' de folks is mighty 'spicious, an' dey's ap' to come a-peerin', <br />Lookin' fe' de scraps you lef' at leas'. <br />W'en de meal's a-hidin' f'om de meal-bin's top, <br />You needn't talk to hide it; ef you sta'ts, des stop. <br />Ef yo' min' kin only carry half a pint o' common idees, <br />Don' go roun' a-sayin' hit's a bar'l; <br />'Ca'se de people gwine to test you, an' dey'll fin' out you's a-lyin', <br />Den dey'll twis' yo' sayin's in a snarl. <br />Wuss t'ing in de country dat I evah hyahed — <br />A crow dot sat a-squawkin', 'I's a mockin' bird.'<br /><br />Paul Laurence Dunbar<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/limitations-6/
