Harriet Monroe, ed. (1860–1936). The New Poetry: An Anthology. 1917.
Song for Shredding BarkMyrtle Eberstein
From “Woman-songs of the Herero”
I
Little daughter,
You shall have a hundred cows,
You shall have a dozen lovers,
You shall have food all day long.
Your father will boast of you,
Little daughter,
Swifter to work than any of his wives.
If you will shred the bark,
Little daughter,
You shall be sold to a great chief
Head of twenty kraals—
If you will shred the bark,
Little daughter!