Melyun-Cully

W’en yo’s feelin’ mely un cully,

     An’ dar ain’ no one aroun’;

Jes’ yo’ slide up to dat mely un

Wot lies blinkin’ on de groun’.

Den yo’ tap him on de do’ plate,

     An’ he say to yo’ “cum in.”

Den yo’ lif him from he buff-place,

     An’ yo’ shuffles back ergin.

Den yo’ cas’ one look behin’ yo,

     Doan yo’ peek ter feel no dread;

An’ yo’ crawl into de orchid,

     Whar the grass is high’s yo’ head.

Den yo’ hol’ him twix yo’ knee paus,

     An’ yo’ gib his ribs a poke,

An’ I low yo’ mely un colly,

     Will go up in smoke.

Aug. 20, ‘92

 Pub. in Boston

Courier, Aug. 12,

       1894

NOTE – I’ve published what can often be inappropriate and/or racial terms or dialect as written. They are rare, and probably weren’t seen as objectionable within even New England society at the time. More importantly, they exist, and editing them out would be dishonest. Things were what they were. Still, including them, as I have done, remains awkward for obvious reasons, including personal taste and the harmfulness of their use. Hopefully, doing so will at least present an accurate picture of how ingrained some prejudices, or at least callousness to them, still were at the time, even among some of the more progressive people of the era.