{"id":79,"date":"2021-06-15T10:31:27","date_gmt":"2021-06-15T14:31:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.ryerson.ca\/claudemckay\/?post_type=chapter&p=79"},"modified":"2022-02-03T08:50:08","modified_gmt":"2022-02-03T13:50:08","slug":"to-e-m-e","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/claudemckay\/chapter\/to-e-m-e\/","title":{"raw":"To E. M. E.","rendered":"To E. M. E."},"content":{"raw":"You see me smile: but what is it?\r\nA sweetened pain \u2014 a laughing fit \u2014\r\nA little honeyed dart,\r\nThat, passing, stabs my heart,\r\nYet mek me glad a bit.\r\n\r\nYou see me dance: 'twas but my feet,\r\nYou should have heard my heart a beat!\r\nFor non o' it was real:\r\nIt be'n a priceless sale\r\nOf bitter for a sweet.\r\n\r\nDis laughin' face! \u2014 'tis full o' joy\r\nBecause it is a baby's toy;\r\nBut when de child is gone\r\nAn' the darkness comes on,\r\n'Twill be anudder boy.\r\n\r\nYou hear me sing: what is de tune?\r\nDe song of one that's dyin' soon,\r\nA whirlin', tossin' life\r\nFlung on de wul' of strife;\r\nI call it 'debil's boon.'\r\n\r\nDe many pleasures?\r\nWha's de gain?\r\nI'll tell you of a grindin' pain\r\nDat companies de birt',\r\nAn' runs wid vengeance mirt'\r\nDe life, till it is slain.\r\n\r\nWhy do I sleep?\r\nMy eyes know why,\r\nSame how a life knows why it die:\r\nDey sleep on in distress,\r\nKnowin' not why dey res',\r\nBut feelin' why dey cry.\r\n\r\nI'm hungry now, so eat once mo',\r\nE'en though I'll soon be like befo';\r\nFor, as in udder t'ings,\r\nDe seemin' pleasure clings,\r\nDe cravin' has no cure.\r\n\r\nIt always seem so strange to me,\r\nDat you can satisfy to be\r\nA life whose daily food\r\nIs pain: de only good,\r\nDeat' dat will set it free.","rendered":"

You see me smile: but what is it?
\nA sweetened pain \u2014 a laughing fit \u2014
\nA little honeyed dart,
\nThat, passing, stabs my heart,
\nYet mek me glad a bit.<\/p>\n

You see me dance: ’twas but my feet,
\nYou should have heard my heart a beat!
\nFor non o’ it was real:
\nIt be’n a priceless sale
\nOf bitter for a sweet.<\/p>\n

Dis laughin’ face! \u2014 ’tis full o’ joy
\nBecause it is a baby’s toy;
\nBut when de child is gone
\nAn’ the darkness comes on,
\n‘Twill be anudder boy.<\/p>\n

You hear me sing: what is de tune?
\nDe song of one that’s dyin’ soon,
\nA whirlin’, tossin’ life
\nFlung on de wul’ of strife;
\nI call it ‘debil’s boon.’<\/p>\n

De many pleasures?
\nWha’s de gain?
\nI’ll tell you of a grindin’ pain
\nDat companies de birt’,
\nAn’ runs wid vengeance mirt’
\nDe life, till it is slain.<\/p>\n

Why do I sleep?
\nMy eyes know why,
\nSame how a life knows why it die:
\nDey sleep on in distress,
\nKnowin’ not why dey res’,
\nBut feelin’ why dey cry.<\/p>\n

I’m hungry now, so eat once mo’,
\nE’en though I’ll soon be like befo’;
\nFor, as in udder t’ings,
\nDe seemin’ pleasure clings,
\nDe cravin’ has no cure.<\/p>\n

It always seem so strange to me,
\nDat you can satisfy to be
\nA life whose daily food
\nIs pain: de only good,
\nDeat’ dat will set it free.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":251,"menu_order":18,"template":"","meta":{"pb_show_title":"on","pb_short_title":"","pb_subtitle":"","pb_authors":[],"pb_section_license":""},"chapter-type":[48],"contributor":[],"license":[],"class_list":["post-79","chapter","type-chapter","status-publish","hentry","chapter-type-numberless"],"part":3,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/claudemckay\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/79","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/claudemckay\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/claudemckay\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/chapter"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/claudemckay\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/251"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/claudemckay\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/79\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":507,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/claudemckay\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/79\/revisions\/507"}],"part":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/claudemckay\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts\/3"}],"metadata":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/claudemckay\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/79\/metadata\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/claudemckay\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=79"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"chapter-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/claudemckay\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapter-type?post=79"},{"taxonomy":"contributor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/claudemckay\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor?post=79"},{"taxonomy":"license","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/claudemckay\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/license?post=79"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}