Memory Wakens

Memory Wakens

New Orleans breezes, so young and so wild
Ma Mere’s sweet chortles, the secrets she smiled
Sweet Crawfish Creole, they snuck from the pot
A shanty blue boat house – their secret spot

Pere out on business, they slip away
Scramble and stumble in passionate haste
Solstice that kisses the early June sun
Arms filled with treasures, they joyously run

A blanket of stars, one pillow to share
So lovely and free; the weeks they held there
Radio playing, alarm clock they brought
Set to awaken lest they should be caught

He of the Bayou, so beautifully cast
Prayed to Madonna, as clouds slowly passed
Katrina draws near, Alllons! We must go!
She runs to the west, he mourns the unknown

Foreign the journey, she flees with no choice
Weeps for the losses, her heart with no voice
Proms and the promise, a trinket of time
Vows on the water, and dreams left behind

Years spent in hope, a woman comes back
And wanders the slope to the blue shanty shack
On backdrop of tin, now weathered in blues
Sweet the time keeper, burnished and bruised

Their solstice again, the promised return
He wanders the shore, with lessons he learned
Madonna he whispers, as there on the shore
Grasped near her heart, his faith is restored

So much was taken, but heart still remained
Left for this moment, rusted and stained
This symbol of passage, frozen near dawn
A memory wakens where all time is gone