I am from strong chicory coffee cut with scalding, steamed milk
I am from smooth snoball ice in sticky, August heat
I am from warm Christmas gumbo
I am from fresh red fish caught in waters just miles away
I am from the alligator infested waterways
I am from the rapidly receding wetlands
I am from big oil
I am from polluted bayous
I am from the marsh that cries for oxygen
I am from thick French history
I am from a land of parishes not counties
I am from Napoleonic code
I am from a multitude of corrupt politicians
I am from a one in five incarceration rate
I am from normalized, structural racism
I am from a land with dirty history
I am from stolen Native land
I am from the nest of the brown pelican
I am from centuries old cypress trees
I am from old growth oaks
I am from baths among floating magnolia flowers
I am from the smell of air off the water
I am from the mighty Mississippi
I am from my dear Louisiana
For all of her merits
And in spite of her flaws,
I am from my dear Louisiana.
I am from my dear Louisiana.