Love Poem: A Man's a Man Fer All Dat
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Written by: Peter Boyce

A Man's a Man Fer All Dat

When a man's on his own, he's just dat.
He's dis an he's dat … jus dis an dat …  an dat's dat.
But now let a good woman enter his life
Let a good woman become his sweet wife
Now he's inspired from dis and dat to this and that and more than that.

From seat left up to seat put down
To clothes picked up 'stead of lying around
From paper cups and plastic spoons
To silver and china with roses and moons
Yes, a good woman transforms his dis and dat to this and that and more than that.

She's a smiling light by which he sees
Yesterday's socks still below his knees.
Her delicate nose, bright eyes and charms
Reminds him to fumigate under his arms.
A man is a man fer all dat, but with a good woman life's this and that.

He wipes his feet as he comes in the door.
"Don't track that sawdust - not on MY floor!"
He hangs up his coat on the back of da chair.
Oh! That's right ... that's wrong ... it doesn't go there!
Well, he hangs it up somewhere, just where I forget
Not on the floor, 'cause the floor is all wet
From the mud on the boots which by the door should be set.
I’ll be getting that look again, that's a safe bet!
But instead she brings warmly a cup of hot tea
With smiles and kisses and m-m-m-m-m … biscotti.

I know there's a lot more dat a “THAT" man should do
Lots of rules about tea time and stuff called "foo-foo".
Yes, a man is a man for all that.
With sawdust and leaves on his old woolen hat,
On his own he's content as an ol’ alley cat, scruffy and scraggly as dis an dat.

But with a good woman like I'm blessed to call mine,
His life starts to mellow like aging fine wine.
His mind starts to think and his heart starts to care
For the spirit-filled treasure who's his lady fair.
So he opens her door, he puts down the seat,
He eats with a fork after cutting the meat.
With napkin in lap and armpits like cedar,
He thinks of his life and how much it is sweeter
Than when he was only and lonely and sad
And says, “Aye!  Dis new life ain’t really half bad!”