Is Lake Pontchartrain a Lake

lake above, earth below

New Orleans Sunrise, 2 February 2025 -- photos by the poet

Is Lake Pontchartrain a lake
or is it a mud puddle
on a grand scale that could be
jumped into with both feet to splash
New Orleans with a sazerac
of Mississippi musing?

The meaning of Groundhog Day
might be lost on your cajun.
Down on the Mississippi
They prefer a creole mix of
the profane and the crazed sacred
leading to a shadow's kiss.

And they prefer to gather
together to celebrate
the basic weirdness of life,
and when it snows — every hundred
years or so — that's just an excuse
for another pride parade.

So let's gather together
for an early Mardi Gras,
my friends, and let's let it be
like nothing Punxsutawney Phil
has ever dreamed of in slumber
but more like his waking up.

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