"Vieux Carre'" A poem about post-Katrina New Orlea

[Berwick Bay]

Vieux Carre’

There’s a sadness here,
A brokenness.
The storm consumed what was left
Like a Cajun sucking yellow fat
From the heads of crawfish.
Only the shell remains.
Bright red, but empty of meat or substance.

That old Vieux Carre’,
Black wrought iron balconys
In an island confused.
In a painful dream
Refusing to accept her fate.
A weird mix of the forgotten young,
Forging a living
Amongst the homeless
And those outsiders who come,
Gawking at the cadaver.
Broken glass,
Dirty window displays,
Across the street
Fire escapes lead to nowhere.
A city now stripped of its meaning
And destiny
Dangles rusty, and broken,
Awaiting a bell
Of mourning,
Tolling from spires of the St. Louis Cathedral.

She no longer speaks, this city,
Silent and cold,
Passing away
As surely as Babylon or Atlantis,
She has chosen that better part.
The storm has fulfilled its purpose,
Its intent.
Lifting a veil
And shining a light,
In dark places.
The decay and evil
Below the gaiety,
From the city’s bowels.
As if a stench from the sewers
Has been shouted from the housetops.
And what is left?
My child thy sins are forgiven!
But not first without confession,
An embracing of the sin.
And so I pray thee,
That thine death
May be quick and painless,
That Orleans,
Now giving up the ghost,
A Mardi Gras without merriment,
Without purple, green, or gold,
Might pass swiftly from sight,
Swallowed up and returned
To mud and marsh.


Perhaps tomorrow,
We will lift our glasses
And raise a toast,
To what used to be.
To a people
Grounded in warm Mississippi mud,
To gumbo, and to Green Irish Beer.
But today I will not drink;
The illusion is gone
And can no longer be conjured
By gin or hurricanes,
Voodoo, churches, or graves.
See, the Natchez blows her whistle,
And on her deck a few tourists take pictures.
On her way now,
Floating downstream,
Never to return.

[JonathanBelles]

I have to argue, I have never been to NO, But I think anyone from there would say they are not broken, the golds, greens, and purples with party in the streets for years to come, and NO has not lost its meaning. This city will survive, regrow, and be reborn. This poem is a sad poem for a desolate harmony.

[Berwick Bay]

Well Fact, I knew this poem was rather negative. After writing it, I reconsidered, but then decided to leave it as it was. So many abandoned buildings and structures wasting away in the downtown area (just outside the French Quarter). A whole city full of decaying structures. Its almost like New Orleans is not even a real city anymore. Tourists come to party in a place called the French Quarter which is surrounded by desolation. Its like its not even a viable city (as far as real people living, working, and planning for a future there. I think I'll let this one stand as is.

[CajunMama]

Rome wasn't built in a day and it has always been said that it will take time to rebuild NO. NO will regain the trust of her people. She will be back with her mystical lure. Katrina will be part of her colorful history and show of her will to survive to become a more beautiful gem of the magical gulf coast.

[HarlequinBoy]

The culture and spirit of New Orleans is still there, I've seen if firsthand.

The city hasn't recovered as fast optimists had hoped, nor is it a barren city with no life or activity.

I suppose it depends on if you're a glass half-empty or glass half-full person.

[Berwick Bay]

I know, it is negative, but I do hope you are right. This city was so great. Art, Music, Parks, Food, Architecture, People of all races living in mutual respect.

[gginnola]

Well Fact, I knew this poem was rather negative. After writing it, I reconsidered, but then decided to leave it as it was. So many abandoned buildings and structures wasting away in the downtown area (just outside the French Quarter). A whole city full of decaying structures. Its almost like New Orleans is not even a real city anymore. Tourists come to party in a place called the French Quarter which is surrounded by desolation. Its like its not even a viable city (as far as real people living, working, and planning for a future there. I think I'll let this one stand as is.

Berwick Bay, I love your poems, but you've got it wrong about New Orleans. The French Quarter, Downtown, and Uptown are all fine. There are no structures that I know of "wasting away" downtown "just outside of the quarter". Lakeview is coming back slowly but surely. Even areas of New Orleans East and the 9th Ward are coming back. Yes, it's slow and I hope we don't get another storm anytime soon, but New Orleans is coming back. We need tourists to come and visit and I think your poem gives the wrong impression about how bad it is here. The areas where tourists go are all up and running and pretty much back to normal.

[rainydaze]

BB, I am glad you kept your poem the same. I'm sure as a tourist visiting your this was your first impression, to be shocked and saddened at the destructuion of Katrina. You yourself said you thought about changing it, maybe because after your first impression you saw the human spirit shine through? That is the fate of mother nature. She neither cares about what is there when she comes and what is left when she leaves. But the human spirit is strong and it always cares. Where a visitor may see destructuion and sadness, a resident will see progress and hope and their community spirit will remain strong and they will always see the best of their beautiful town.

[Berwick Bay]

[b]Thank you Rainydaze for those words of encouragement. But I want to talk to you about something you said. Here's the quote.

[/That is the fate of mother nature. She neither cares about what is there when she comes and what is left when she leaves. But the human spirit is strong and it always caresb]

I actually think that "mother nature" does care, and much more than the human spirit. You see, I don't look at Katrina as a tragedy for New Orleans. I really don't! As I said in the poem Katrina shone a light on dark place within the community of New Orleans. This was a tremendous service to all of us. The storm did what no one in the community dared to. It could be contained no longer. It had to come out. Yes there are dire consequences, but the decay and neglect under the surface were of such a nature that death was probably imminent anyway. One other thing, I never look at the storms as evil or bad. I'm not like some who may come here looking only for info about how to protect property from some "beastly force of nature" Though thousands may die in a storm, the storm itself is inherently beautiful and right! Its up to us to use our reason to find a way to co-inhabit the planet with these noble beasts. I love tropical weather.

[rainydaze]

OK BB, how about we respectfully agree to disagree

[gginnola]

[b]

I actually think that "mother nature" does care, and much more than the human spirit. You see, I don't look at Katrina as a tragedy for New Orleans. I really don't! As I said in the poem Katrina shone a light on dark place within the community of New Orleans. This was a tremendous service to all of us. The storm did what no one in the community dared to. It could be contained no longer. It had to come out. Yes there are dire consequences, but the decay and neglect under the surface were of such a nature that death was probably imminent anyway. One other thing, I never look at the storms as evil or bad. I'm not like some who may come here looking only for info about how to protect property from some "beastly force of nature" Though thousands may die in a storm, the storm itself is inherently beautiful and right! Its up to us to use our reason to find a way to co-inhabit the planet with these noble beasts. I love tropical weather.

Berwick Bay, please don't take offense to what I'm saying. I don't know where you live, but take it from someone who lost everything in Katrina, it certainly was a tragedy. Not just for me, but for so many people who lost their lives, family members, etc. I also don't understand how you can say "death was imminent" from decay and neglect. Actually, death is imminent for everyone, but saying that the damage caused by Katrina was imminent minimizes the horror that all of us in New Orleans and the Gulf Coast went through. I just don't understand how you and others can trivialize the loss and the horror that was Katrina. I'm not going to post any more on this topic, it's too gut wrenching to try to explain the feelings to people who didn't go through it and who obviously don't understand what it was like.

[Berwick Bay]

GG, I'm sorry for what you experienced, I really am. As you say, I can't really know it from having a conversation with you. These things go deeper than that. As far as death being imminent, I was referring to New Orleans already dying a slow death before katrina was ever born. Katrina only exposed the rot and decay under the surface. Many in America had simply no idea of the scope of this vast underclass and the criminal element involved in it. Now, I love hurricanes. Its why I come to this site. A comparison, if you will indulge me. If I go to Africa on safari (into lion country) and am killed by a lion, is the lion evil or bad?? Of course not. The lion is only being a lion. A great and majestic creature. Such is tropical weather. When you live in New Orleans or anywhere near the coast, you are in "hurricane country". I can't see how we can call the effects of a landfalling hurricane "evil" or bad, when we have only ourselves to blame. This is hurricane country.