One more poem draft before I get back into text ruminating of what I’ve been reading….
Never heard tell de like of dez farm help
somma em settle in real nice like
dey was always with us. somma em
ain’t kept de sense god give a goose —
‘oud drown in drizzle — downpour’ould*
do em in for sure. how come
ppl put 2 n 2 together ofen ’nuff, should know
how it goes. so I give ’em
a 1 and 1 so, as not ta overstate the case none
come back later, stunned as a fish dat got a clobberin
to the ole noggin, I find dey don’t come out with a 4
and dey done nothing towards it at all.
half way is right enough, I s’ppose. A start’s
better ‘an nuttin on it. Still, if ya ask me
some is right bull-headed,
who’s got time to lead folks round by der nose
when dey won’t even follow their own? no use
I tell ya. think der good for us, got it all figured,
talk in a high way like no one can understand
and get all in a bunch an’ sez its your doing
whatever der on about, hot under the collar,
dere’s no calling for that sort of way.
people’s got to be civil but dere’s no telling dem
to simmer down, no talkin to them at all, same as
talkin to this here wall, get ’bout as much outta it.
*contraction of would
—
Concerns with this piece:
1) Is it so dialectical as to be opaque?
2) I’m concerned about authenticity to local dialect. The grammar naturally slips registers in life. How much should I be reflecting that in linguistic capture of place, rural Ottawa valley poor class?
3) is it just a generic inane rant or exotic to someone from away?
cool experiment. i had no idea this was supposed to be ottawa valley speak though; i thought you were trying some kind of ebonics or something, which did seem kinda odd. does seem a tad ranty or didactic to me. but the idea’s very interesting and inspiring.
that’s really neat. i read it outloud and it definitely made a difference.
i don’t know anything about rural ottawa valley, but it’s fun to read.
ps i have also been stalking you on your food blog. i love the sushjitas!!