My Mississippi

I have been searching for a song or a poem to articulate my feelings about my Mississippi and have failed. So tonight I wrote this.

My Mississippi

Gentle waves that lap the shore
Hot grains of sand my feet long for

The vast expanse of white sand
I can feel it's grittiness in my hand

Azure skies with white clouds adrift
Beckon me outside with their sweet gift

Pines trees sighing in the wind
With soft green feathers all a bend

Great majestic live oaks
With limbs spread out like spokes

To give me shade
While I sip cool lemonade

Friendly smiles all around
Will welcome you into town

A hand beckons for you to sit down
And you will seldom see a frown

Grand houses of history
To fill me with mystery

Whose hands built those grand dames?
Likely I'll never learn their names

Pelicans soar the heights
And thrill me with their flights

Sea gulls cry their laughs
At the fisherman they sass

Boats with sails of blue
Make me long to be on them too

The sounds of a Mardi Gras parade
Cannot leave me staid

The neon lights of the casinos flash
Quick, bring your cash

Will my Mississippi ever be the same?
No, Hurricane Katrina is to blame

But my Mississippi is rising
A better one is on the horizon

Helping and leaning on one another
Each is now sister and brother

The barriers of the past
Seem to have gone with Katrina's blast

No longer do you see the color of skin
We have all been made kin

Each face, your brother, say your eyes
Together we have faced the terror from the skies

The debris of homes is being taken away
It is getting better day by day

Soon the grief will truly end
And our prayers to God we will continue to send

For faith makes you strong
To rebuild the place you belong

by Karen Baker