Yawcob Strauss and Other Poems/Dot Baby Off Mine
DOT BABY OFF MINE.
- Mine cracious! mine cracious! shust look here und see
- A Deutscher so habby as habby can pe!
- Der beoples all dink dot no prains I haf got;
- Vas grazy mit trinking, or someding like dot:
- Id vasn't pecause I trinks lager und vine;
- Id vas all on aggount off dot baby off mine.
- Dot schmall leedlc vellow I dells you vas qveer;
- Not mooch pigger roundt as a goot glass off peer;
- Mit a bare-footed hed, und nose but a schpeck;
- A mout dot goes most to der pack off his neck;
- Und his leedle pink toes mit der rest all combine
- To gif sooch a charm to dot baby off mine.
- I dells you dot baby vas von off der poys,
- Und beats leedle Yawcob for making a noise.
- He shust has pecun to shbeak goot English too;
- Says " Mamma" und " Papa," und somedimes "Ah, goo!"
- You don'd find a baby den dimes oudt off nine
- Dot vas qvite so schmart as dot baby off mine.
- He grawls der vloor ofer, und drows dings aboudt,
- Und poots eferyding he can find in his mout;
- He dumbles der shtairs down, und falls vrom his chair,
- Und gifes mine Katrina von derrible sckare.
- Mine hair shtands like shquills on a mat borcubine
- Ven I dinks off dose pranks off dot baby off mine.
- Dere vas someding, you pet, I don'd likes pooty vell,
- To hear in der nighdt dimes dot young Deutscher yell,
- Und dravel der ped-room midout many clo'es,
- Vhile der chills down der shpine off mine pack quickly goes:
- Does leedle shimnasdic dricks vasn't so fine
- Dot I cuts oup at nighdt mit dot baby off mine.
- Vell, dese leedle schafers vas going to pe men,
- Und all off dese droubles vill peen ofer den:
- Dey vill vear a vhite shirt-vront inshtead off a bib,
- Und vouldn't got tucked oup at nighdt in deir crib.
- Vell, vell, ven I'm feeble, und in life's decline,
- May mine oldt age pe cheered py dot baby off mine!