Ladies and gentlemen, you may never see such words again in print:
Acting on the advice of her appointed state poet laureate, Gov. Kathleen Blanco announced Tuesday she has rejected a Prairieville poet’s literary offering as the state’s official poem….
more at NOLA.com
So, not only has a work of literature been quite literally vetoed, but an elected official has actually conversed with a poet laureate. Those of you in hell might wanna grab a sweater and some snow boots.
In case you missed it, here’s the poem in question, which was approved by this slim volume of legislation put forward by Republican Mert Smiley of St. Amant:
I love my Louisiana
She’s so colorful in her history
so majestic in her pride
with beauty unsurpassed
like any other of its kind.
She seems to be like a soulful mate
that stands here by my side.
This brings me special confidence
to know that she is mine.
I love my Louisiana
with all her charms and queenly ways,
yet she blushes when in bloom.
God’s sunshine surely kissed her
for He blessed her cup so full.
You can even feel her radiance
on her rainy gloomy days
for you know that on the morrow
the sun will clear the haze.
I love my Louisiana.
I propose this toast toward her
with my meager pen in hand.
I somehow feel so primitive
to her majesty so grand.
—James Ellis Richardson
sturtle [dot] com 