| Edmund Clarence Stedman, ed. (1833–1908). An American Anthology, 1787–1900. 1900. |
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| 1675. The Borrowed Child |
| | | By Howard Weeden |
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| MY chile? Lord, no, she ’s none o’ mine; | |
| She ’s des one I have tried | |
| To put in place of Anna Jane— | |
| My little one what died. | |
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| Dat ’s long ago; no one but me | 5 |
| Knows even where she lies: | |
| But in her place I ’ve always kept | |
| A borrowed chile, her size. | |
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| As soon as it outgrows my chile, | |
| I lets it go, right straight— | 10 |
| An’ takes another in its place | |
| To match dat Heabenly mate. | |
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| It ’s took a sight o’ chillin, sho’, | |
| To ease dat dull ol’ pain, | |
| An’ keep de pretty likeness fresh | 15 |
| Of my dead Anna Jane. | |
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| Der ’s more den forty years, you see, | |
| Since she has been in Heaben, | |
| But wid de angels years don’t count— | |
| So she ’s still only seben. | 20 |
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| Time treats us all up dere, des lak | |
| It do white ladies here— | |
| It teches ’em so light—one’s still | |
| A gal at forty year! | |
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