Poetry · Chapter
Gypsy Man explained
A woman laments her gypsy-like lover who never comes home, deciding she too must become a wanderer.
What happens
A woman laments her gypsy-like lover who never comes home, deciding she too must become a wanderer. She recalls her time in Memphis where she was mistreated and had her last dime taken by a man she loved, concluding that love is a painful, incurable disease.
Themes in this chapter
Love and Loss
The speaker's love for the gypsy man leads to her financial and emotional ruin, illustrating love as a painful, inescapable affliction.
Poverty and Class Struggle
The speaker's loss of her last dime to a 'yellow papa' highlights the economic vulnerability and exploitation faced by poor women.
Characters to notice
Key passages
“Ma man’s a gypsy Cause he never does come home.”
My man is a wanderer because he never returns home.
Establishes the central conflict of the speaker's abandonment.
“I give it to him cause I loved him But I’ll have mo’ sense next time.”
I gave him my last dime because I loved him, but I'll be wiser in the future.
Shows the speaker's regret and resolve after being exploited.
“Love, Oh, love is Such a strange disease. When it hurts yo’ heart you Sho can’t find no ease.”
Love is a peculiar illness; when it pains your heart, you can find no relief.
Summarizes the poem's theme of love as a painful, incurable condition.