Classic Poem

" Now I vum, "
Said old Grum,
" Y' sh'd keep gals t' hum
Till they're twenty er thirty
Ez tight ez a drum.

Y' sh'd l'arn
'Em t' 'arn
What they git an' consarn
Themselves with the'r chores,
That's my doctern, by darn!

An' th' boys
Y' sh'd lick
Every day with a stick,
Till they come when y' call 'em
An' come mighty quick!

Y' sh'd teach
'Em that speech
Is f'r grown folks an' sich;
We got youngsters t' work,
We got preachers t' preach.

An' this dum
Go an' come
Is all nonsense, I vum.
In all my born days
Ain't been five mile fr'm hum.

Oh, I got
Some idees
How t' raise familees,
How I'm goin' t' raise mine;
You can do as y' please.

An' f'r clo'es,
Do y' s'pose
That my spondulix goes
F'r Paris creations
An' gowns an' silk hose?

Why, say!
This old plum
Colored suit here, I vum,
I was married in that
An' it's good now, by gum!

Oh, I got
Some idees
How t' raise familees.
I was raised thataway
An' by gum look at me! "