The Complete Poems of Paul Laurence Dunbar/Time To Tinker 'Roun'!

by Paul Laurence Dunbar

TIME TO TINKER 'ROUN'!

Summah 's nice, wif sun a-shinin',
  Spring is good wif greens and grass,
An' dey 's some t'ings nice 'bout wintah,
  Dough hit brings de freezin' blas;
But de time dat is de fines',
  Whethah fiel's is green er brown,
Is w'en de rain 's a-po'in'
  An' dey 's time to tinker 'roun.

Den you men's de mule's ol' ha'ness,
  An' you men's de broken chair.
Hummin' all de time you 's wo'kin'
  Some ol' common kind o' air.
Evah now an' then you looks out,
  Tryin' mighty ha'd to frown,
But you cain't, you 's glad hit 's rainin',
  An' dey 's time to tinker 'roun'.

Oh, you 'ten's lak you so anxious
  Evah time it so't o' stops.
W'en hit goes on, den you reckon
  Dat de wet 'll he'p de crops.
But hit ain't de crops you 's aftah;
  You knows w'en de rain comes down
Dat's hit's too wet out fu' wo'kin',
  An' dey 's time to tinker roun'.

Oh, dey 's fun inside de co'n-crib.
  An' dey 's laffin' at de ba'n;
An' dey 's allus some one jokin',
  Er some one to tell a ya'n.
Dah 's a quiet in yo' cabin,
  Only fu' de rain's sof soun';
So you 's mighty blessed happy
  W'en dey 's time to tinker 'roun'!