NOH EVEN LICKLE TWANG!(NOT EVEN A LITTLE ACCENT)
This poem bemoans the fact that a recent repatriate Jamaican has returned from the United States without a trace of having been--not even a little "twang"! This, to say the least, is a highly unusual occurrence and all the more unforgivable.
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Me glad fe se's you come back bwoy,But lawd yuh let me dung, Me shame o' yuh soh till all o'Me proudness drop a grung.
Yuh mean yuh goh dah 'MericaAn spen six whole mont' deh, An come back not a piece bettaDan how yuh did goh wey?
Bwoy yuh noh shame? Is soh you come? Afta yuh tan soh lang! Not even lickle language bwoy? Not even little twang?
An yuh sista wat work ongleOne week wid 'MericanShe talk so nice now dat we haveDe jooce fe undastan?
Bwoy yuh couldn' improve yuhself! An yuh get soh much pay? Yuh spen six mont' a foreign, anCome back ugly same way?
Not even a drapes trouziz? orA pass de rydim coat? Bwoy not even a gole teet orA gole chain roun yuh t'roat.
Suppose me las' rne pass go introjooceYuh to a strangaAs me lamented son wat latelyCome from 'Merica!
Dem hooda laugh afta me, bwoyMe could'n tell dem soh! Dem hooda sey me lie, yuh wasA-spen time back a Mocho.
Noh back-ansa me bwoy, yuh talkToo bad; shet up yuh mout, Ah doan know how yuh an yuh puppaGwine to meck it out.
Ef yuh want please him meck him tinkYuh bring back someting new. Yuh always call him "Pa" dis evenin'Wen him come sey "Poo".
-Miss Lou