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They just wearin’ out yo’ sittin’ chairs.”
You can tell ’em what Ah say if you wants to. Dat’s just de same as me ’cause mah tongue is in mah friend’s mouf.”
So de white man throw down de load and tell de nigger man tuh pick it up. He pick it up because he have to, but he don’t tote it. He hand it to his womenfolks. De nigger woman is de mule uh de world so fur as Ah can see.
colored folks is too envious of one ’nother. Dat’s how come us don’t git no further than us do. Us talks about de white man keepin’ us down! Shucks! He don’t have tuh. Us keeps our own selves down.”
“Aw, git reconciled! Dat woman don’t want you.
dat wuz mah wife,” said Walter Thomas, “Ah’d kill her cemetery dead.”
“Well, Tony tells me tuh humor her along. He moved here from up de State hopin’ tuh change her, but it ain’t. He say he can’t bear tuh leave her and he hate to kill her, so ’tain’t nothin’ tuh do but put up wid her.”
The years took all the fight out of Janie’s face. For a while she thought it was gone from her soul. No matter what Jody did, she said nothing. She had learned how to talk some and leave some. She was a rut in the road.
Anybody that didn’t know would have thought that things had blown over, it looked so quiet and peaceful around. But the stillness was the sleep of swords.
See yuh later, tell you straighter.”
“Folks seen you out in colors and dey thinks you ain’t payin’ de right amount uh respect tuh yo’ dead husband.” “Ah ain’t grievin’ so why do Ah hafta mourn?
All night now the jooks clanged and clamored. Pianos living three lifetimes in one. Blues made and used right on the spot.
“Naw, it’s real. Ah couldn’t stand it if he wuz tuh quit me. Don’t know whut Ah’d do. He kin take most any lil thing and make summertime out of it when times is dull.
“Aw, don’t make God look so foolish—findin’ fault wid everything He made.”
They seemed to be staring at the dark, but their eyes were watching God.
Common danger made common friends. Nothing sought a conquest over the other.
They were all against her, she could see. So many were there against her that a light slap from each one of them would have beat her to death.
A man is up against a hard game when he must die to beat it.
The kiss of his memory made pictures of love and light against the wall. Here was peace. She pulled in her horizon like a great fish-net. Pulled it from around the waist of the world and draped it over her shoulder. So much of life in its meshes! She called in her soul to come and see.
