Dat Gal o' Mine

James Weldon Johnson 1871 (Jacksonville) – 1938 (Wiscasset)



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;
Now, Su', don't you know I'm proud o' dat gat o' mine.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

42 sec read
98

Quick analysis:

Scheme AA BB CC XX CA DD
Closest metre Iambic hexameter
Characters 620
Words 129
Stanzas 6
Stanza Lengths 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2

James Weldon Johnson

James Weldon Johnson was an American author, educator, lawyer, diplomat, songwriter, and early civil rights activist. Johnson is best remembered for his leadership within the NAACP as well as for his writing, which includes novels, poems, and anthologies. He was also the first African-American professor at New York University. Later in life he was a professor of creative literature and writing at Fisk University. more…

All James Weldon Johnson poems | James Weldon Johnson Books

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