Signs Of Death (Second Version) Poem by James Ephraim McGirt

When you hear at night de cows a lowin',
An' dogs a howlin' out der mournful soun',
I tell you now you better get you ready,
Dey's goin' to plant som'body in de groun'.

You need not b'leave in signs, not less you wan' to,
But some of des morn' you'll wake up in su'prize,
An' if dem dogs com' howlin' where I'm sleepin',
I tell you now dis darkey's goin' 'o rize.

If der's any doubts o' being ready,
Down on my knees a prayer I'll make,
You can laugh an' say dat darkey's skeery,
I'm like a rabbit can' trus' no mistake.

It may not be fo' me de dog's a howlin',
But when de howl my path I'm goin' 'o sweep
An' I ain't goin' to bed no mo dat evenin',
Fo' death will never com' an' fin' me sleep.

Der're lots o' learned people talkin', bully,
An' saying der's nothing in de signs;
But if da com' a roun' me with der learnin'
I'm jus' er goin' 'o tell 'em dey're lyin'.

I'se got no time to listen to der learnin',
Fo' dey is jus' a tryin' to show off smart,
Der ain't nobody, don't care how dey's learned,
Dat's got de signs all wiped out o' der heart.

Fo' learnin' never takes from man his habits,
It only smears dem over wid a stain,
An' caus' you're learned, you is not an angel,
Dem same old trates er lurkin' still within.

I kno' I'm learned as high as anybody,
Yit whin a chicken coop I'm passin' by,
Der com' to me again dem same old feelin's
I'm going 'o hav' dat chicken 'cep he fly.