King Cake Bébé

Autumn Light

2011-10-23T09:52:00.000-07:00

Soft blue asters and
Bright white boneset blooms
sway lightly amdist
the golden rods
dusted with pollen and
buzzing with bees, wasps and bumblers.
Woodpeckers laugh at the cat in the pines..
'Can't catch me
I'm too high in my tree!

Android Autofill Poem With the Kids

2011-10-23T09:35:00.000-07:00

Baby a alright fishing
and the beat
Her name is the beat
Not Baby!
Names and maxwell
are in the car.
Ah! Ah! Yeah!
I know baby.
Uncle John,
I'm okay!
I will.
Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah!
Why New York?
Bedbug Baby
Boo Boo.
Stubborn Wheat.
Wake me hello!
Email and text me
till I get my saddle pads
Fat! Fat! Fat!
We should party proper
is case you sugar rush.
Yahoo!
Wake me wondering...
Now say something...
Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah!
Five Gallon Round
New York.
Wow, wow, wow, wow!
Hello?
Where is the New York,
New York Mortgage?
Baby a alright fishing
and the beat
Her name is the beat
Not Baby!
Bean be Max
Easy, Weezy
Louisiana.
Period.

©2011 Carrie Lee Schwartz

Autumn Returns

2011-09-30T10:43:00.000-07:00

The slow staccato of dew starts dropping on the gravel
from the edge of the tin above,
from the tips of the branches,
deep and forceful hummms
whiz past in the dark
hunting sweet nectar
before the light
a stretch in the soft fog,
watching the pink,
then fuschia glow
between the mottled shade
pines and privet
and there it is,
a moment of silence,
then a burst of song
every throat with wings,
sings boastfully,
it is here, it is here.
lighting her webs aglow
with pearls of life,
The world becomes blush
in the warmth of
the starlight rising.
©2011 Carrie Lee Schwartz

Haiku for the Gulf Coast

2011-04-21T14:27:00.000-07:00

A year ago the well blew
Eleven men died
Many more have since perished

Listen Children, we need you
Study hard in school
Find a better way to live

They are serving Gulf fish now
So, would you eat them?
Would you eat Gulf Oysters too?

How many dolphins must die
Before we find a
Better and cleaner fuel source?

Mother Earth is very ill
and very angry
Can she shake up her keepers?

The only way to make change
Lead by each action
Start with each choice-Live "greener"

Over 100 days of Oil

2010-08-05T06:31:00.000-07:00

Over 100
Millions of gallons spilling
The numbers are cold

They have sealed the well
They say that the oil is gone
Most think that's a lie

Only time will tell
If again we can fish here
And the Gulf will heal.

"Top Kill" "Static Kill"
Names that mean you're taking lives
Don't give us comfort

Oil Spill Haiku -over 80 days

2010-07-19T09:10:00.000-07:00

Too many days of oil now
The Gulf is not dead
But it is still in peril

The dull slow pace of response
Beyond negligent
Shows contempt for our people

Are we not Americans?
Why then the slow pace?
And inadequate succor?

It may be very complex
To your specialists
But Sand berms are our life line

If you will not help us then
Please do the right thing
and just get out of the way

Oil Spill Haiku

2010-05-03T11:14:00.000-07:00

Purple Green and Yes, Gold
But never raw crude
Uninvited British trash!

Our sleeping oyster beds have
suffocating dreams
nightmares that they cannot breathe

Pelicans dine on soiled fish
by appointment of
Her Royal majesty's Crude

American Fishermen
Wait on the Wind Now
To Blow the slick to the East

Our men, French American
and Croatian too
Ruffled by British Lawyers

The President says they'll pay
I hope to see it
happen before I die old.

I want my descendants to
fish from the waters
of Venice and Plaquemines

Katrina was a nothing
compared to this sick
poison of water and food

Cap the well fast my Captain
The Navy must come
The Brits skipped the safety valve

Lifeless turtles line the beach
much more endangered
the Gulf Stream is mourning them

Please give us a strong north wind
Blow the oil away
From our delicate coastline

We need weeks of NW winds
To move the sick sludge
Hurricane season is soon

Dispersants are also bad
Would you drink daily
From soapy oiled gulf water?

Below the oily surface
Bottled-nosed dolphins
With larger brains, wonder why...

When other humans do things
that harm our planet
I'm unhappy to be one

The long term answer is clear
Seek alternative
clean energy solutions!

Jazz Dogs

2010-03-31T21:49:00.000-07:00

We walk the perimeter
anxiously-
sniffing the breeze
for hints of crawfish monicas
and listen for harmonicas...
Oh cruel end of April
and early May, stay away!
The drums and BBQ beckon us.
We want to sit then dance with the humans.
But we are banished
like lepers,
the unclean.
Oh dismal days
when our human companions
abandon us all
and dance in the dirt
we smell your sweat
mingled with so many
when you come back home,
smelling of beer and crawfish
tasting salty and faintly like horses.
We long for the day, one day,
we hope, that we can join you
in this Spring Celebration
which is not complete
or true
until we are welcome too.

Float Props

2010-02-12T11:13:00.001-08:00

Who Dat Nation Invades Mardi Gras!

2010-02-12T11:08:00.000-08:00

Hurricane Haiku!

2009-11-08T12:17:00.000-08:00

Inspired by Ida

Full blue sky of anxious tears
Can you believe it?
November Hurricane comes

Cell phones may be useless soon
Where is my family?
Safety is everyone's dream

All my pets are with me now
Damn the Bureaucrats!
We'll sleep and live in our car

Work won't let us go early
Warning is issued
More stress for everyone's life

The low pressure makes you sleep
You dream island dreams
Wake up floating in your bed

They said it would miss our house
probability
Is like gambling when you're drunk

The media is ready
To criticize us
And anyone else, and will

We ate all our M.R.E.'s
But hoard H.2.o.
What post traumatic stress, sir?

Waiting is the hardest part
Water, wind, and fear
I hope it moves quickly by

Seasonal changes in South Lousiana

2009-06-27T12:33:00.000-07:00

Well it's that time again...Hurricane Season and the Gulf is starting to heat up like the storm soakin' jacuzzi that is is.
Most people have Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter as the way that they "season" their annual calendars..

Here is South Louisiana, we love "seasonings" so ours are a little like our beloved cayenne peppers- hot and spicy seasons....
Four major seaons, with a lot of other festivals and hunting seasons in between..
In short, our life is full here and we celebrate and revel in our;
Football Season (LSU Tiger, Tulane & Saints) Season..
Carnival Season(Kins Day!-Jan6-thru Ash wed and sort of the Lenten Season),
Spring Festival Season( Jazz Fest, Festival Acadiens, Tomatoe, French Quarter etc)
and our character building
Hurricane Season (June thru Oct-ish),
which if we survive, is why we celebrate life fully until the next one.

Time to pay attention to the gulf, and check your supplies and family for their plans.
Water, weather radio, radio, batteries, flashlights, nonperishable food items for you ( and unexpected guests)
and enough food and water for your pets. Bedding for you and pets ( and unexpected guests' pets)
and of course maps of the entire country since you may need to travel far and wide-
and check the car - oil, fluids, battery, tires, etc..
Check your yard for debris that could go airborne that need to be taken care of.
Human and pet Rx. travel games for the kids ( cards, crayons and paper)
and a whole lot of patience!

NOLAHAIKU-13

2009-06-05T16:39:00.000-07:00

A little something extra
Un petite cadeux!
Our baker's dozen is "Lagniappe"

NOLAHAIKU-12

2009-06-05T16:35:00.000-07:00

St. Charles, Esplanade, Royal
They all know Bourbon
Do you know Tchoupitoulas?

NOLAHAIKU-11

2009-06-05T16:32:00.000-07:00

Pimm's Cup, Peychauds, Sazerac
A Ramos Gin Fizz
Get a Hurricane "to go"!

NOLAHAIKU-10

2009-06-05T16:28:00.000-07:00

Falling, rising, rolling, wide
Cresting, muddy brown
Big Mississippi River

NOLAHAIKU-9

2009-06-05T16:23:00.000-07:00

Funk, Blues, Jazz and Symphonies,
Fill our streets forever
All good music begins here.

NOLAHAIKU-8

2009-06-05T16:18:00.000-07:00

Fishing is good here all year
It is winter here
Now, I'm making couvillion

NOLAHAIKU-7

2009-06-05T16:15:00.000-07:00

I know you! Who's You're Momma?
You look just like her.
Come on, gimme some sugar!

NOLAHAIKU-6

2009-06-05T16:13:00.000-07:00

Floats rolling, flambeauxs rising,
Dabloons raining down
Throw me something! Mister Please!

NOLAHAIKU-5

2009-06-05T16:09:00.002-07:00

Water is important here
Now and all summer
Ice is necessary!

NOLAHAIKU-4

2009-06-05T16:09:00.001-07:00

We breathe between The River
and Lake Pontchartrain
Water everywhere around.

NOLAHAIKU-3

2009-06-05T16:08:00.000-07:00

We are cast iron magnolias
Forever graceful
In our ancient cypress homes.

NOLAHAIKU-2

2009-06-05T16:07:00.000-07:00

Surviving floods, hurricanes,
and politicians,
Spirits live among us!

NOLAHAIKU-1

2009-06-05T16:04:00.000-07:00

We are Carnival
Revelers celebrating
Life inside the crescent!

Happy Mardi Gras!

2009-02-23T16:13:00.000-08:00

Hope that you get to eat some steak before Ash Wednesday!

It's Carnival!

2009-02-21T15:15:00.001-08:00

Happy Mardi Gras!