This poem was inspired by my recent trip to America--Louisiana was my first stop.
The moist breath of May in Louisiana,
hot and humid as a lion's den,
stuck to our city skin--limpets of sweat--
as our small swamp-boat nosed away
from the make-shift jetty.
Here the Pearl River was broad,
its shores an arboreal pot-pourri
of thick trees,and our guide,
a chunky Cajun man, pointed out
egrets and stilted herons.
Impressive-- but then, after a surge
of acceleration, the boat
slowed down and we entered a bayou.
From then on, we were in another world,
a realm of savage beauty.
The shrill cries of strange birds
greeted us as they flung themselves
like feathered missiles through
the damp air. Spanish Moss draped
its bunting over twisted branches.
What looked like solid ground
was floating vegetation--purple hyacinth
and water lilies--and the swamp was never still.
Logs, half-submerged, morphed into alligators,
and snakes slithered and hissed.
Our rugged Cajun introduced us
to Cindy, a large female 'gator
whom he fed with marshmallows
on a stick; to a snake coiled
somnolently on a spur of log.
This wet and wooded world,
this fecund eco-system, was outside
the sphere of human society: an hour's
drive from New Orleans
and a galaxy or two away.
A contest entry
- Wildlife In Its Natural Habitat by misticmoonlite.
475 points, ended October 14, 2007, 13 entries
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest
Please tell me what you think
Comments
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Lol never been there,but your description seems to be right on as all reports of the bayou are quite unique,thank you for this entry and good luck in our contest...MM
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grateful
this is a great piece you have captured this wonerful place with a beauty that many dont know about. I live in Louisiana and i would never call anywhere else my home and i thank you for the wonderfully beautiful description that you have painted here
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Good Atmospherics
You did a good job capturing the feeling of the swamp, a place I know well. All that's missing is the smell!
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