New orleans Poems

The Alphabet of New Orleans

by Jeffrey Pipes Guice

“A” is forda alligator...
Who lives in da lagoon...
“B” is forda beignets...
Dat ya eat wit yo fingers...
Not some silver spoon...

“C” is forda crawfish...
Dat ya eat wit ya fingers, yea...
“D” is forda doberge cake...
Take an extra piece home...

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Historic New Orleans Streetcars

by Jeffrey Pipes Guice

The Historic New Orleans Streetcars
First drawn by horses in 1832...
Connected Lake Pontchartrain to the Mississippi River
Along beautiful Elysian Fields Avenue...

This was soon followed
By the Poydras-Magazine Line...
And then Lafayette (Jackson) and Nayades (St. Charles),
Totally by design...

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Mardi Gras Ladders

by Jeffrey Pipes Guice

It’s an annual tradition...
For generations past...
This ain’t our first Mardi Gras...
And it won’t be our last...

We all arrived early...
At least a week or more…
To set up our Mardi Gras ladders...
Just like our parents did before...

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Grandma’s Sayings

by Jeffrey Pipes Guice

Growing up in da city...
Our sayings were always witty...
We don’t mean nobody no harm...
So go away if your attitude is sh/tty...

My grandmother used to say them...
My parents said them, too...
My aunts and uncles said them...
So did everyone else I knew...

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The Mardi Gras Fountain

by Jeffrey Pipes Guice

Who remembers when our parents...
After the dinner dishes were all put away...
Would discuss together as a family...
For that perfect ending of the day...

After we bathed and brushed our teeth...
Put on our clean footy pajamas...
We grabbed a bunch of warm blankets...
And fresh cocktails for the mommas...

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Morning Call

by Jeffrey Pipes Guice

When the kids were all fed...
And after draining the bath water...
We would all climb into my dad’s car...
And head down to the French Quarter...

My parents enjoyed all the excitement...
After working those long days...
We’d head down to Morning Call...
For chocolate milk and beignets...

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