Expressions
The Poetry of
James Arthur Skipper, Jr
8. When the Worlds Bust Through
Swimming
I want to swim, but my big Dad,
He sits me on the sand
And then he dives and swims away.
He looks just something grand.
But when I say I want to go
He gives me a big smile
And says, "Why yes, when you get big,
But now, you're just a child."
Then my Ma, she goes out, too.
She swims out to the float,
But I must stay right by the shore
And sail my little boat.
I'll tell you what I think I'll do
When I get big and tall.
I'll swim away to China-land
And I won't come back at all.
What They Call It
Grandma says we're right in style
a-sitting in our auty-mo-bile.
Grandpa says we're fit to kill
a-riding in our auty-mo-bill.
Ma says we ought to feel
Grateful for our auty-mo-beel.
Pa says there ain't no other man
Kin run an auto like he can.
Uncle Bill says he ain't seen
Nowhere such a grand machine.
Brother Jim keeps a braggin'
About the speed of our new wagon.
But oh it sounds so grand and noble
When Sister Sue says auty-moble.
Wee Willy's First Hair Cut
Last Friday, Wee Willie Went to the barbershop with me
And the colored barber bowed most graciously
And asked the little fellow
How should he cut his curls?
Close to his head?
Or very short?
Or layered like little girls?
"My hair, please barber sir
Just like my own dear Daddy's
With a small round hole on the top."
Black Cat
As you know,
to be a black cat
has always been an honor.
Men feared us
and women turned pale at our sight.
But now I am the only one
left to tell the tale.
Black cat
we have claws.
Let us get him.
Jes' Before Christmas
Father calls me William.
Sister calls me Will.
Mother calls me Willie,
but the fellows call me Bill.
Might glad I ain't a girl;
I'd ruther be a boy
Without them sashes, curls an' things
That's worn by Fauntleroy.
I love to chunk green apples
an' go swimming in the lake.
Hate to take the castor oil
they give for tummy ache.
Most all the year around
there ain't no flies on me
but jes' before Christmas,
I'm as good as I can be.
For Christmas with its bats and balls,
lots of candy, cake, and toys
was made, they say, for proper kids
and not for naughty girls and boys.
So wash yer face and brush your hair
and mind your p's and q's.
And don't bust out your breeches
or wear out your shoes.
And when there's company, don't pass your plate again
but think of things you'd like to see upon that tree
and jes' before Christmas be as good as you can be.
Down on the Farm
Of course I like our auto car
That Daddy drives around
But when I went to Grandma's house
Guess what else I found.
I will not tell just what it was
But it would go for miles
And I would sit upon its back
And jump the big sand piles.
It never tried to stall or balk
And never had a flat.
It never needed gasoline
To make it go like that.
And so I'm only glad, you see,
When I am there to stay.
To ride that horse from morn 'till night --
Oh, I've told it all, you see!
When My Pa Was a Boy
I wish I'd been here when my pa was a boy.
There must have been excitement then
When my pa was a boy.
In school he always took the prize.
He used to lick boys twice his size.
I bet folks all had bulging eyes
When my Pa was a boy.
There was a lot of wonders done
When my Pa was a boy.
How Grandpa must have loved his son
When my Pa was a boy.
He'd get the coal and chop the wood
And think up every way he could,
Always just be sweet and good
When my Pa was a boy.
Everything was in its place then
When my Pa was a boy.
How he could wrassle, jump, and roll
When my Pa was a boy.
He never disobeyed. He beat 'em in every game he played.
Gee, what a record they made
When my Pa was a boy.
I wish I could have been here
When my Pa was a boy.
There'll never be his like again,
Pa was the model boy.
But still last night I heard my Ma raise her voice
and call my Pa the biggest fool she ever saw.
He ought of stayed a boy.
When the World Busts Through
Where's a feller goin'
And what's he gonna do
And how's he gonna do it
When the World busts through?
Ma says she jes' don't know
What we're gonna do
And Pa says he's skeered
Clean plumb through.
Suppose we'd be a playin' out in the street
And the ground 'ud split open 50 feet.
Ma says she jes' knows we'd tumble in,
And Pa says he bet we wouldn't grin.
And then suppose we'd be a playing in the barn so tall
And lightning would strike And kill kids and all,
Says Pa.
So where's a feller goin'
And what's he gonna do
And how's he gonna do it
When the World busts through?
Flyin' - Not Me!
Say, cap, you knows me
And you knows I'll do
Jes what ole Dixie tells me to
But deres one job dat I fo-see
Ain't gwin to tax hitself on me.
Dats dem dere flyin' aireplanes.
Naw sir boss!
I'll drive yo kickin' mule or hoss
Do yo cooking, clean your gun,
But I ai't flirtng with no sun.
And [ ] a mile or two is fun?
Uh- uh- not me.
I ain't goin' up there where the crows
Will git my wool caught in their toes
An' smooth this feller out his clothes.
Uh- uh- not me.
In Dixie I sees the light of day.
In Dixie is where I'm gonna stay
And when I does that loop-de-loop
I'll twist it 'round some chicken coop.
I like to "howdy" folks I meet
And chat to all de gals on the street.
Ain't nuffin' up der to eat.
Uh- uh- not me.
When [ ] trees grows on planet Mars
And gravy drips from all de stars
And chickens scratch the Milky Way
And melons grow where spirits stay
I'll rise and sail but 'till that day
Uh- uh- not me.
So I'll hang around 'till ol' Gabriel brings
Those good ol' fashion angel wings,
And I'll strap them on and then on high
I'll pass them buzzin' airplanes by
And shout in Glory from de sky.
Uh- uh- not me!
'Member?
Member awful long ago
Most a million weeks or so
How we tried to run away
And was gone for most the day?
Your Pa found us both and then
Asked if we'd be bad agin
And we promised by-and-by.
Do you remember? So do I.
Member when I tried to crawl
Through that rat hole in your wall
And I got stuck because my head was too large.
Your mother said when she came to pull me through.
And I's surprised you didn't try it, too,
An' you did, by-and-by.
Member? Do you? So do I.
Member when your mother said
'At she wished I'd run an' do
All the mischief in my head
All at onct and get it through?
S'pose we did!
Why maybe then
We could do it all again!
Guess we could if we should try
Will you sometime?
So will I!
Wouldn't it Be a Surprise
If for one week from morn till night
All boys and girls would be polite
And not get cross or scold or fret
And do what they're told and not forget
To hang up coats and hats with care
Nor throw their books upon a chair
Nor think about their play and fun
Until their work was neatly done.
If they'd all study hard in school,
Keep outa' mischief and mind each rule.
If hands were scrubbed clean all the while
And faces wore a pleasant smile.
Say wouldn't teacher open her eyes
And our parents have a big surprise.
They either for the doctor send
Or think the world was about to end.
In the Dark
Mother pushed the button
That turned out the light,
Said I'd been a bad boy tonight.
But I don't care if I can't see
When everyone looks cross at me.
The man in the moon is looking down
And even he is wearing a frown.
I wish she'd come in soon
And press the button that turns out the moon.
I'm Tall as Ma
Did you know I was as tall as Ma?
Am! Pa measured me and you ask Pa.
Ma wouldn't believe me says,
"The idea of that boy being as tall as me."
And Pa, he teased Ma, told her that she
Was the baby now of our family.
I tried to love Ma same as before,
But she says, "You can't be baby no more."
It tickles my Pa for me to be
Taller than Ma, and it tickles me
'Cause you see, I know it's my only chance,
Next suit I get, I'll wear long pants.
My Pa Said So
Foxes can talk if you know how to listen.
Owls have big eyes that sparkle and glisten.
My Pa said so.
Bears can turn flips and climb around trees
And steal all the honey from all of the bees.
My Pa said so.
Girls is scairt of a snake but boys ain't.
Boys would be 'shamed to act that way
When all the snake wants to do is play.
My Pa said so.
All these animals found in the woods
Ain't always ferocious, most times they're good.
The trouble is mostly they're misunderstood.
My Pa said so.
Maybe foxes don't talk to folks like you,
And bears never show you the tricks they can do,
But I know the stories I'm telling are true.
'Cause my Pa said so.
The Papa Hen
The mamma hen sits way up high
Up on her little nest
And pretty soon there'll be an egg
But the Papa hen, he sticks out his chest
And kicks the sand with his legs.
And if he finds a worm or bug
He hollers Quick, Quick, Quick
But he eats it up himself or else it's only a stick.
I'll bet if I was a Papa Hen, so handsome and so stout,
I'd lay some eggs myself and then I'd have something to holler about.
James Arthur Skipper, Jr. was born at England, Lonoke County, Arkansas on November 7, 1921. In June of 1944, at the age of 22, he was drafted for World War II. Though he could have claimed a "family exemption," he wanted to serve.
In June of 1945, the cargo plane he was flying in was shot down.
There were no survivors.
