Yawcob Strauss and Other Poems/Dot Baby Off Mine

by Charles Follen Adams

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!