The Voyageur and Other Poems | Page 7

below
De face of ma leetle son
look jus' so--
Den off beyon', on de bush I see
De w'ite dress fadin'
among de tree--
Was it a dream I dream las' night
Is goin' away on
de morning light?
[Illustration: Border]
Getting On
I know I 'm not too young, an' ma back is not as straight As it use to be
some feefty year ago--
Don't care to go aroun' if de rain is fallin'
down
'Less de rheumateez is ketch me on de toe--
But dat is ma
beez-nesse, an' no matter how I feel---
Oder folk dey might look out
deir own affair
'Stead o' w'isperin', "Wall! bâ Gosh! lissen poor
Maxime Meloche, How dat leetle drop o' rain is mak' heem swear!
De ole man 's gettin' on!"
Smart folk lak dat, of course, mebbe never hear de news
Of de tam he
's comin' sick Guillaume Laroche,
Who 's tak' heem home to die w'en
de rapide's runnin' high, An' carry heem on hees shoulder t'roo de bush?

Oh! no, it was n't me, only wan of dem young man
Hardly got de

baby moustache on de mout',
Dat's de reason w'y I say to mese'f mos'
ev'ry day,
"Purty hard dere 's not'ing else dan talk about
'De ole man 's gettin' on.'"
W'at 's mak' me feelin' mad is becos dey don't spik out,
Non! dey 'll
sneak aroun' for watch me as I go,
An' if I mebbe spill leetle water on
de hill,
W'en I 'm comin' from de well down dere below,
No use for
tellin' me--I know too moche mese'f,
Dat 's de tam I 'm very sure dey
alway say,
"See heem now, how slow he go--don't I offen tole you so?
We 're sorry, but Maxime is have hees day,
De ole man's gettin' on."
It's foolish t'ing to do, for dere 's alway hang aroun'
Some crazy feller
almos' ev'ry day--
So I might a' stay at home 'stead o' tryin' feex de
boom, Dough I 'm sure de win' is blow de oder way;
For I never hear
dem shout w'en dey let de water out,
An' de log dey come a-bangin'
down de chute,
But leetle Joe Leblanc ketch me on de pant, hooraw!

Den spile de job by w'isperin', "I 'm afraid I spik de trut',
De ole man 's gettin' on."
Only yesterday de pig get loose an' run away,
An' de nex' t'ing he was
goin' on de corn--
So I run an' fetch de stick, an' after heem so quick

Jus' to mak' heem feelin' sorry he was born;
An' dat pig he laugh at
me, an' he fill hees belly full
'Fore he 's makin' up his min' for come
along--
I 'm sure I see heem wink--should n't wonder if he t'ink,
"Very easy see dere 's somet'ing goin' wrong--
De ole man 's gettin on."
If only I can get some doctor feex me up,
Mak' me feel a leetle looser
on de knee--
On de shoulder, ev'ryw'ere--ba tonder! I don't care,
I
'le spen' a couple o' dollar, mebbe t'ree--
Jus' to larn dem feller dere

how to skip an' how to jomp, On de way I beat deir fader long ago--

Yass siree! an' purty soon dey 'll sing anoder tune,
An' wonder w'at de
devil 's dere to show
De ole man's gettin' on.
Oh! dat maudit rheumateez! now she's ketchin' me again
On de back
becos I 'm leetle bit excite,
An' put ma finger down, widout stoopin'
on de groun'--
But I 'll do dat trick to-morrow, not to-night--
All de
sam' I often t'ink ev'ry dog is got hees day,
Dat 's de lesson I was
learnin' on de school;
So I can't help feelin' blue w'en I wonder if it 's
true
W'at dey 're sayin'--dough o' course dey 're only fool--
De ole man 's gettin' on.
[Illustration: Thistle]
[Illustration: Border]
Pioneers
If dey 're walkin' on de roadside, an' dey 're bote in love togeder, An' de
star of spring is shinin' wit' de young moon in between, It was purty
easy guessin' dey 're not talkin' of de wedder, W'en de boy is comin'
twenty, an' de girl is jus' eighteen.
It 's a sign de winter 's over, an' it 's pleasan' hear de talkin' Of de
bull-frog on de swamp dere wit' all hees familee-- But it 's lonesome
doin' not'ing, an' dere 's not moche fun in walkin', So we fin' some
fence dat 's handy for mese'f an' Rosalie.
[Illustration: "So we fin' some fence dat 's handy
for mese'f an' Rosalie."]
An' I dunno how it happen, w'en her head come on ma shoulder, An'
her black eye on de moonlight, lak de star shine--dat 's de way. (Mebbe

it 's becos de springtam) so I ketch her han' an' tole her Of how moche I
'd lak to tak' her on some contree far away.
Den she say, I 'll mak' an offer, if you 're sure you want to