Venturing out eastward
Crossing the state line
back along highways bordered by swamps
I wander through southern, salty mists
along rows of former plantations
harboring the past
like the sad ghost caretakers
who live there now
heat fuels humidity
like steam through a boiler
mosquitoes big as helicopters
At a roadside cafe
fish and gator
thick Cajun accents
laugh at my curiosity
the road, the swamp, the mystery
fans out before me
Mindful of the speed traps
I enter the heavily hanging woods
swamp veiled by a voodoo curtain
People live on the houseboat
near the heart of the river
I’m at a loss
beguiled, I momentarily succumb
and just let time stop
through thickness and unfamiliarity
until I can find my way…
Don’t let it stop too long…one of those gators might get you! Very picturesque!
Marissa, I used to live in Houston and there are gators there too, just not really publicized. I used to go for “nature” walks in wetlands around my house (by myself) which I realize was not so smart now for a variety of reasons (see ID TV)…oh well, I’m alive!
Oh wow, that is positively frightening. Yes, glad you’re alive!
Yep….maybe not my brightest decision….ha ha 🙂
Beautiful word painting!
Thank you so much 🙂
Must be beautiful. I’ve been intrigued with that section of the country since Anne Rice wrote about it.
It truly is…I have been to New Orleans and went by her house, very, very cool…New Orleans, now that’s an interesting place!
Beautiful poem! The descriptions of the southern landscape, the former plantations, accents, gators and ‘mosquitoes as big as helicopters’! Wonderful descriptions, and an intriguing refence to voodoo. 🙂
Thank you Millie, I used to live in Houston Texas which is just right there and visited Louisiana many times. It is such a sultry, southern, mysterious place 🙂
Well, the images of it are certainly embedded in your memory! Your poem was wonderfully evocative. 🙂
Thanks Millie, I really like Louisiana:)
Very evocative.
Thank you so much!
You paint such a vivid picture, reading is like stepping into another world. 🙂
Thanks so much, that’s quite a compliment coming from an author who creates such wonderful, mystical stories 🙂
Your Eastern drive from Texas showed the gradual changes over the miles, like passing into another century. Louisiana is quite an experience. I particularly loved the way you described the roadside cafe. All those strange characters with thick Cajun accents. I was lucky when I had learned Spanish for 6 years and had a young Creole teacher for French class. She gave me good grades since I spoke Spanish-accented French. 🙂 She would regale her Ohio students with tales of Mississippi and Louisiana.
That’s a great story, I have known some Louisiana folks too, very cool. Spanish is my 2nd language also. I learned a little french before I visited there back in the nineties. Knowing Spanish sure made it easier.
AmazIng job you really wrote it nice!
Thank you so much, thanks for reading!