In that time he was writing poems too, and a novel, Not Without Laughter, which earned him a $400 award, which was what he had in 1929 when he lost his patron and decided to go to Haiti for a while.

One night as I did wander, When corn begins to shoot ... Although written in Burns time at Mossgeil, this poem wasn't published until 1808 when it appeared in Cromek's Reliques.