Reluctance
Reluctance - meaning Summary
Teasing Turns to Confession
A speaker repeatedly protests Bettah quit daihin' me
while describing growing desire for a beloved who teases them. The poem moves from playful refusal to frank longing—admiring lips and teeth, offering a kiss in exchange for happiness, and confessing loneliness. Physical touches (hand-holding) and imagined promises shift the speaker from resisting teasing to accepting intimacy. The repetition of the refrain frames a tension between coyness and surrender, ending with the speaker acknowledging the teasing as a successful courtship that leads toward mutual commitment.
Will I have some mo’ dat pie? No, ma’am, thank-ee, dat is–I– Bettah quit daihin’ me. Dat ah pie look sutny good: How ‘d you feel now ef I would? I don’ reckon dat I should; Bettah quit daihin’ me. Look hyeah, I gwine tell de truf, Mine is sholy one sweet toof: Bettah quit daihin’ me. Yass’m, yass’m, dat’s all right, I ‘s done tried to be perlite: But dat pie ‘s a lakly sight, Wha ‘s de use o’ daihin’ me? My, yo’ lips is full an’ red, Don’t I wish you ‘d tu’n yo’ haid? Bettah quit daihin’ me. Dat ain’t faih, now, honey chile, I ‘s gwine lose my sense erwhile Ef you des set daih an’ smile, Bettah quit daihin’ me. Nuffin’ don’ look ha’f so fine Ez dem teef, deah, w’en dey shine: Bettah quit daihin’ me. Now look hyeah, I tells you dis; I ‘ll give up all othah bliss Des to have one little kiss, Bettah quit daihin’ me. Laws, I teks yo’ little han’, Ain’t it tendah? bless de lan’– Bettah quit daihin’ me. I ‘s so lonesome by myse’f, ‘D ain’t no fun in livin’ lef’; Dis hyeah life’s ez dull ez def: Bettah quit daihin’ me. Why n’t you tek yo’ han’ erway? Yass, I ‘ll hol’ it: but I say Bettah quit daihin’ me. Holin’ han’s is sholy fine. Seems lak dat ‘s de weddin’ sign. Wish you ‘d say dat you ‘d be mine;– Dah you been daihin’ me.
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