بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

The FIRST thing I noticed were the clouds.

It was hard to admit, but somehow they’re BETTER than the clouds where I’m from.

They seem closer, more picturesque,

More PRONOUNCED, against the backdrop of the Azure skies.

Then one morning, I alighted from my lion’s den, pre-dawn,

For a commune with Allah,

The Landscape Around Me Looked As If

It Had Been Digitally Enhanced

The Sunrise Only Added A Gilded Tinge

To The Vibrant Greens of the Cypress Trees

As I Meandered Past.

New Orleans is DRENCHED in Romance.

The feeling overtakes you so suddenly and unexpectedly,

It’s almost overwhelming.

Your insides are reduced to cornmeal mush…

As Ellington’s “Sentimental Mood” evokes a soft chord

In the recesses of your mind.

The desire to retain such emotion is uncontrollably strong.

And it lingers as long as you do.

But errands call, and grudgingly you answer

Moseying along the sunlit but still eerily empty streets.

But soon, just as unexpectedly, another one comes over you,

This time on the banks of the

Majestic Mississippi

The waters ripple magnificently out

Before you –

A mirror of the Midnight Sky

Her gentle waves entice you

But the rocky slope hinders your progress –

The drive home on an elevated highway

Spotlights a Brilliant Sunset

And completely unannounced and without warning

Once again, the feeling of Romance embraces you in invisible arms

But they are as tangible as your own

The Orange Glow Hypnotizes

As the sky is enveloped in a watercolor of hues

Red… blue… pink… gold…

The Birds sing a chorus of the melody and harmony

That reverberates the song going out of your heart

Much, much too soon

The Sun has disappeared below the horizon

Along with her goes her glow,

The moment has passed

And is soon forgotten

Until the next one taps you on the shoulder

*Ahem*

You turn around and the bright neon

Of Bourbon Street flashes before your eyes.

The Streets are ALIVE

With Jazz & Merriment & Music!!!

The joyful atmosphere sweeps you high up into the air

And carries you on a cloud of audio/visual delight.

You float through the maze of cafes

Until you’ve had your fill of song and dance of Dixie.

A streetcar screeches by,

Reminding you,

“Hey! You Are In NEW ORLEANS!

BIRTHPLACE OF JAZZ!”

Around the Corner

Congo Square Beckons An Ancient Call

You Respond in African Tradition

Drawn By The Beat Of A Djembe

You ask for directions in vain,

No one has heard of it….

The Free Spirits of Your Bond Ancestors

Guide You Regardless,

After A Walk Through Time

A Bevy of Shade Trees

Extend Their Branches

Welcoming You To The Sacred Grounds

Where Our Foreparents Gathered

Three Hundred Years Ago Or More

On Their ONE DAY OF REST

Cautiously, You Approach The Nucleus of the Center Circle

Of The Square,

Images of Beautiful Asiatic Black Gods and Goddesses Encircle You

Rejoicing in the Bounty and Pleasure of the Others’ Company

Despite Their Collective Wretched Existence.

Think You they felt the same Romance?

The Same Heart-Wrenching Emotion?

The Visceral Pull Of The Elements

Toward The Almighty Oneness of The One God – Allah?

THEY LAID THE FOUNDATION FOR IT

AND EVERYTHING ELSE OF VALUE IN THIS COUNTY

BUILT ON THE BLOOD AND MURDER OF THE RIGHTEOUS

AMERICA – THE PITIFUL, THE DOOMED

Incredibly, 400 Years later,

The Romance Inherently An Integral Part of this Sacred Ground

Still lingers….

It thrills and enchants one of their Scions,

Who Just Can’t Find It In Her Heart

To Leave………