goes under for a long time till I feels the breath leaving me.
Jim find me like that floating.
Whats wrong with you gal.
He wade in the pond and carry me out. I shivers in the night air. He hold me to him.
You gone and loss your mind.
Then he see we gots another child coming. I cant gives Mas another child I sobs. I goes to my grave fore I gives Mas another child.
You hush now he say. Thats Lizbeths child. She ask for him and he gonna come no matter what you do. You aint want to give our baby girl some company. You selfish thats all. Trying to sneak off and get rid of Lizbeths baby. What I gonna say to her when she grow up and ask what happen to her mama. She drown herself cause she aint want to give you some company.
I cries and cries.
We names the baby Jonnie.
Next year the same as before. We sows and plows in winter. Nurses the seedlings long in spring till they ready to be move during rainy season. Topping and suckering in the heat of the summer. Pulling off the worms till time for the harvest and curing. Tired of healing folks just so they can go back to the fields.
Jonnie learn to walk. Lizbeth feeding the chickens. The other children run and play but she all the way watching for the workers. Waiting for us to come in from the fields. Every night she bring me water. I aint gots to tell her. She wash my feet. She comb her daddys hair. Aint but a little thing but she already trying to sew. We gots two children to leave or take. Me and Jim we aint talks no more bout running.
Then Lizbeth take with the fever. I brings her butterfly weed and garlic and five finger root and burr seed. But I worries she aint gonna come through. Cora look after her. I aint trusts myself. If she leave me I be sorrow. If she leave me I be joy. She such a feeling child. I aint wants her to suffer.
Cora take good care of Lizbeth till she can stand on her own. Then she come back to the cabin. She stand in the door her skin gray like ash. Jim tell her to shut the door cause she letting in the cold. But she aint follow him.
He tell her again but she just stand there. Aint say a word.
Jim feeling hard them days. I can tells he all the time thinking bout Nerium Todd. We barely talks to each other. Jonnie teething. He crying all the time. And here Lizbeth acting like she aint know her daddy.
If you make me raise up off this floor he tell her I gonna spank you good. Still she aint do like he say.
Leave her be I says to him. She aint right. She still with the fever. It aint leave her head.
I gonna knock it out her head he say.
But fore he can grab her the winds come up and throw the door shut. Lizbeth never move.
Look to me like she frozen. I gets up and puts my arm round her. I pulls her to me. Her little heart beating like horses being whip. Jim come up on her and yell something in her ear. Then he pick her up and cry.
Thats when we knows she cant hear nothing. That scarlet fever take her hearing. Now all three of us gots tears rolling down our faces.
Jonnie see us crying and he start to bawl. Screaming so loud we starts to laugh. Jim look at Lizbeth. She aint know why we laughing but she smile. You lucky you cant hear your brother cry no more Jim say. She smile at him.
Jim fix his mind on making money. He gonna buy our freedom. Folks give him money for seeing things. You want him to see something you gotta ante up. Put the money in the hat. After a year he got almost fifty dollars. But fifty dollars wont buy you nothing but a half dead nigger. Not even one of Jonnies toes.
I watches my husband sink. We starts laying together again but half the time he turn away. Everything remind him of the freedom he cant have.
One day he in town when they running the hogs to the stockyards. He say them hogs running so fast like they running for they freedom. They slaves being run to market.
White folks picking up and rushing off to California to find them some gold. Jim say he wish Mas go to California. He go to California we go to Canada. They
Jim find me like that floating.
Whats wrong with you gal.
He wade in the pond and carry me out. I shivers in the night air. He hold me to him.
You gone and loss your mind.
Then he see we gots another child coming. I cant gives Mas another child I sobs. I goes to my grave fore I gives Mas another child.
You hush now he say. Thats Lizbeths child. She ask for him and he gonna come no matter what you do. You aint want to give our baby girl some company. You selfish thats all. Trying to sneak off and get rid of Lizbeths baby. What I gonna say to her when she grow up and ask what happen to her mama. She drown herself cause she aint want to give you some company.
I cries and cries.
We names the baby Jonnie.
Next year the same as before. We sows and plows in winter. Nurses the seedlings long in spring till they ready to be move during rainy season. Topping and suckering in the heat of the summer. Pulling off the worms till time for the harvest and curing. Tired of healing folks just so they can go back to the fields.
Jonnie learn to walk. Lizbeth feeding the chickens. The other children run and play but she all the way watching for the workers. Waiting for us to come in from the fields. Every night she bring me water. I aint gots to tell her. She wash my feet. She comb her daddys hair. Aint but a little thing but she already trying to sew. We gots two children to leave or take. Me and Jim we aint talks no more bout running.
Then Lizbeth take with the fever. I brings her butterfly weed and garlic and five finger root and burr seed. But I worries she aint gonna come through. Cora look after her. I aint trusts myself. If she leave me I be sorrow. If she leave me I be joy. She such a feeling child. I aint wants her to suffer.
Cora take good care of Lizbeth till she can stand on her own. Then she come back to the cabin. She stand in the door her skin gray like ash. Jim tell her to shut the door cause she letting in the cold. But she aint follow him.
He tell her again but she just stand there. Aint say a word.
Jim feeling hard them days. I can tells he all the time thinking bout Nerium Todd. We barely talks to each other. Jonnie teething. He crying all the time. And here Lizbeth acting like she aint know her daddy.
If you make me raise up off this floor he tell her I gonna spank you good. Still she aint do like he say.
Leave her be I says to him. She aint right. She still with the fever. It aint leave her head.
I gonna knock it out her head he say.
But fore he can grab her the winds come up and throw the door shut. Lizbeth never move.
Look to me like she frozen. I gets up and puts my arm round her. I pulls her to me. Her little heart beating like horses being whip. Jim come up on her and yell something in her ear. Then he pick her up and cry.
Thats when we knows she cant hear nothing. That scarlet fever take her hearing. Now all three of us gots tears rolling down our faces.
Jonnie see us crying and he start to bawl. Screaming so loud we starts to laugh. Jim look at Lizbeth. She aint know why we laughing but she smile. You lucky you cant hear your brother cry no more Jim say. She smile at him.
Jim fix his mind on making money. He gonna buy our freedom. Folks give him money for seeing things. You want him to see something you gotta ante up. Put the money in the hat. After a year he got almost fifty dollars. But fifty dollars wont buy you nothing but a half dead nigger. Not even one of Jonnies toes.
I watches my husband sink. We starts laying together again but half the time he turn away. Everything remind him of the freedom he cant have.
One day he in town when they running the hogs to the stockyards. He say them hogs running so fast like they running for they freedom. They slaves being run to market.
White folks picking up and rushing off to California to find them some gold. Jim say he wish Mas go to California. He go to California we go to Canada. They
Similar Books
