Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Anywhere else


It is not the call of the Quarter,
or Jackson squared upon his stone horse,
of the smell of beignets and café au lait,
or washing down a muffaletta with
Barq’s root beer at Central Grocery,
or the lines at Felix’s Oyster Bar,
or the streetcar jerking past mansions
on St. Charles, or the food, the glorious food,
food unlike anywhere else on the planet, or
the music spilling onto Bourboned sidewalks,
or the suburban schools and shopping centers
that look like anywhere else, or the sneaking
into the ball fields at Holy Cross, or running
atop the levees of the Ninth Ward, or
the accents unlike anywhere else
and the people creoled into a human gumbo,
or the understanding that when the storm
comes form the south the winds first come
from the north.
It is none of these things.
Or perhaps it is.

My hometown faces yet another hurricane. This time, family are more secured. But the city faces yet another storm, yet another assault upon its existence. I believe it will endure. That’s because I’m a native New Orleanian, and we never knew any better.

This poem is submitted to Open Mike Night at dVersePoets. To see more poems, please visit the site.

8 comments:

Maureen said...

Earlier today, the President declared a state of emergency for the area. Let's hope any damage is not great.

The listing of everything that "is not" encompasses all those things that make New Orleans a city like no other. The city is, and always will be, even if diminished by storm.

Sheila said...

Beautiful summation of that indescribable essence that makes NOLA unique in all the world.

Maureen is like, it's a city like no other.

Praying for her and her denizens.

Louise Gallagher said...

What a powerful poem and people.

praying for your people and all the people in the eye of the storm.

Blessings.

Megan Willome said...

I like your last sentence the best. That says it all.

Brian Miller said...

ha i think perhaps it is a bit of all of that and more...really like the twist in your last line glynn...made me smile....

Anonymous said...

there's no place like home...

S. Etole said...

Hoping all goes well. I've enjoyed this series.

Anonymous said...

I hope all is well. I really loved this line:

and the people creoled into a human gumbo

This was a delightful read. Never been there, but going later this year and very much looking forward to visual confirmation of the existence of such a place.

Cheers!