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Accountability

By Paul Laurence Dunbar

Topics: classic

Folks ain't got no right to censuah othah folks about dey habits;     Him dat giv' de squir'ls de bushtails made de bobtails fu' de rabbits.     Him dat built de gread big mountains hollered out de little valleys,     Him dat made de streets an' driveways wasn't shamed to make de alleys.     We is all constructed diff'ent, d'ain't no two of us de same;     We cain't he'p ouah likes an' dislikes, ef we'se bad we ain't to blame.     Ef we 'se good, we need n't show off, case you bet it ain't ouah doin'     We gits into su'ttain channels dat we jes' cain't he'p pu'suin'.     But we all fits into places dat no othah ones could fill,     An' we does the things we has to, big er little, good er ill.     John cain't tek de place o' Henry, Su an' Sally ain't alike;     Bass ain't nuthin' like a suckah, chub ain't nuthin' like a pike.     When you come to think about it, how it 's all planned out it 's splendid.     Nuthin 's done er evah happens, 'dout hit 's somefin' dat 's intended;     Don't keer whut you does, you has to, an' hit sholy beats de dickens,--     Viney, go put on de kittle, I got one o' mastah's chickens.

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"Folks ain't got no right to censuah othah folks about dey habits;..."

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Author:Paul Laurence Dunbar

"Folks ain't got no right to censuah othah folks ab..." by Paul Laurence Dunbar

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"The Text is taken from Percy's Reliques (1765), vol. i. p. 71, 'given from two MS. copies, transmitted from Scotland.' Herd had a very similar bal"

Paul Laurence Dunbar

About Paul Laurence Dunbar

Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872–1906) was an American poet and novelist who was one of the first African-American writers to gain national prominence. His poems in dialect—including "When Malindy Sings"—and standard English explore Black life with humor, pathos, and dignity.

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