Thus Hurricane Katrina blotted out every living thing
But the fountains of the deep closed
And the people remembered Nola.
They remembered their flowers of desire,
Live oaks branching across dreams,
The natural magic of walking banana trees,
Dancing lizards and voodoo honey.

People remembered and one by one
The sweet devilwood of their mornings
Returned in the beak of a dove.
There’s no way to stay sober
Where streets have the names of Muses.
There’s no way to stay dry
In so green and destructive an Eden.