Notes From Kids

Jake's Poem
"Written by 6th grade student Jake while displaced in Pennsylvania"

“New Orleans……”

It is hard to explain
The city that I love
So here are a few things
That make me adore
This unique place.
The smell of crawfish
In the air.
Knowing that the Westbank
Is really on the east side
Of one of the biggest rivers
In the world that my city
Has come to love.
When catching beads,
doubloons, and cups
at a parade is nothing
new.
When you go to other cities
You are never satisfied
With that city’s food
Because our city has
Spoiled us with some of
The finest dining.
When you go to the Dome
To watch the Saints
But we don’t call them
The Saints in my beloved city
We call them the “Aints.
Jazz was invented
In my great city.
In the French Quarter
You go to Café’ Du Monde
To get beignets
And while you’re
Still in the Quarter
You go to the Flea Market
To buy some of the
City’s unique art and
Voodoo dolls.
When you go down
Canal Street just to
Go shopping.
When you go up
St. Charles Avenue and
See all the mansions on
Your way to the JCC
To dance and have
Fun with your friends.
To mourn Wally Pontiff
Our beloved baseball star
For LSU because he
Grew up in our great city.
Then one day it all changed.
A girl named Katrina
Ruined our great city.
One day you’re at school
Then the next day
You are waking up early
Just to get out of the
City that is always in
My heart.
Some families could not
Get out of the city so
They fled to the
Superdome.
In the Dome the conditions
Were terrible.
Many died in that terrible
Storm.
My friends spread across
the entire country.
Some I will never see again
Because their families
Found better lives in
Different places.
But still, after this great natural
Disaster
People are waiting to come
Back
And that is the New Orleans’ Spirit
And I know that will
Never die.

New Orleans
4th Grade Class - Summer Witness Program, 2006

New Orleans is a place that is my home
From the simple little Jazz Fest
To the big Superdome
Right now it’s a mess but soon it’ll be back to its best
All of the chicken with dirty rice
To all of the seafood with all of its spice.
Where we show love and others care,
Listening to Louis Armstrong while the wind is
Blowing in our hair
New Orleans is not dead,
We need more money and we need more beds
Right now our city is quite a mess
Soon it’ll be back to its very best.
The Hornets are pro’s
The Saints are too
In our Chocolate City the visitors show love
And care for us too!!