Heartless Rhoda
Kiss me, as you want it so;
Lub me, ef it wort’ de while;
Yet I feel it an’ I know
Dat, as t’rough de wul’ you go,
You will oft look back an’ smile
At de t’ings which you now do.
Tek me to de church te-day,
Call me wife as you go home;
Hard fate, smilin’ at us, say
Dat de whole is so-so play;
Soon de ushal en’ will come,
An’ we both will choice our way.
. . . . . . .
Spare you’ breat’, me husban’ true,
I be’n marry you fe fun:
Lub dat las’ long is a few,
An’ I hadn’t much fe you.
I be’n tell you it would done,
All whe’ come is wha’ you do.
Life I only care to see
In de way dat udders live;
I experiment to be
All dat fate can mek o’ me:
Glad I tek all whe’ she give,
For I’m hopin’ to be free.
From Songs of Jamaica (Aston W. Gardner & Co., 1912) by Claude McKay. This poem is in the public domain.