The Jazz, The Saints, The Blues

I remember where my city was
It was tucked in a river bend
Its proud spires and columns wide
Stretched out from friend to friend.

We had a way of life there
That few could understand
How black and white could fight so
To occupy this land.

The sweet smell of praulines cooking
With coffee and chicory
A statue in a park
Honoring “Old Hickory”

The sounds of jazz were born there
The music that is our nation’s
Went out on record players
And broadcast out on stations.

The food was known as gourmet
All clamored for a taste
And overeating platefuls
Could end up on your waist.

This lazy Southern city’s
Charted course was not to speed
All stopped at Mardi Gras time
To catch a cup or bead.

On weekends we could fish
From lake or tranquil bay
Families would work each week
To have two days to play.

And when the winds came blowin’
And the rain came pourin’ down
People stayed and “rode it out”
Because they loved this town.

The levees broke and levels rose
High and high and high
It broke our hearts to watch
The homes seem to say goodbye.

Plucked from muck by chopper blades
And rescued by a boat
Some people clinged so hard to life
But others couldn’t float.

And when the bowl of the city
Filled up with anger and pain
The angst of no relief in sight
Hurt way more than the rain.

“Get out, get out!” the leaders said
Abandon all you love
And those that stayed behind
Were sent off with a mighty shove.

Dispersed we are, we sit and wait
We live beyond our means
The plaintive song we sing, of course,
Is “To Miss New Orleans.”

I remember where my city was
It is tucked up in my mind
As long as I remember it,
It won’t be left behind.

©2005 Alan Smason

Alan Smason is 51 year-old widower. Until Katrina, he worked as a computer consultant for businesses in the New Orleans metropolitan area (Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer, Cisco Certified Network Associate, CompTIA A+, Network+, and i-Net+ Certified Professional). He was the Chairman of the Southeast Louisiana Jewish Committee and a member of the National Jewish Committee on Scouting. As the Entertainment Editor of the Jewish Civic Press, he wrote for a paper published in four editions: New Orleans, Houston, Atlanta, and the Alabama and Mississippi "Dixie" paper.