Going to the Picnic

 1 

 There is a large crowd of young folks 
 Hurrying down the road; 
 They are going to have a picnic now, 
 And spread the news abroad. 

 2 

 They are wearing beautiful bouquets, 
 And carrying bright tin dippers; 
 New straw hats are waiving high, 
 And patent leather slippers. 

3 

 Their hats are made of fine chiffon, 
 And decorated too. 
 There will be plenty of goodies 
 For your friends and for you. 

4

 They will have a big barbecue. 
 And a lot of other stuff. 
 They are going to eat and drink 
 Till everybody puff. 

5

 They will have cakes and candy by the heaps, 
 And ice cream pressed in cake; 
 Peanuts parched fresh and hot, 
 And a lot of fine milk shakes. 

 6 

 They will have fish croquets by the bushels, 
 And cocoanut jumbles too; 
 They are going to feed their friends and foes 
 And have enough for you. 

 7 

 They are going to have a big dance 
 And have a jolly time. 
 They want to show their handsome looks 
 Because they look so fine.  

 8 

 One barrel or two of lemonade, 
 Mixed all through with ice; 
 Lemons cut and thrown therein 
 Gee! it’s awful nice. 

9 

 Of all the fun and jolities, 
 And all the places of rest, 
 Just go to an old picnic ground; 
 They tell me that’s the best. 

This poem is in the public domain. Published in Poem-a-Day on February 17, 2024, by the Academy of American Poets.

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Julius C. Wright, born in the late nineteenth century, was an African American poet and the author of his first and only known poetry collection, Poetic Diamonds, which he published in Montgomery, Alabama, in 1906, at twenty years of age. His contribution encompasses the poetics of the post-Antebellum South and precedes the poetics of the Harlem Renaissance. The year of his death is unknown.