Louisiana Branches

Strong like the waves that crash upon the shore Deep as the river beneath a tossing barge Long like the nights as we wait out the storms And true as the love we have for the babes in our arms The spirit of a warrior standing ready in his armor The faith of a Pastor while comforting congregation members The eyes of a mother that chooses to see only hope And the strength of a father protecting his family's home Louisiana's children, up until the end--- Prove over and over that our Faith won't be bent We've adapted and created our ways of living Picking up the pieces when Mother Nature comes at us again We hurt when she hurts and bare the brunt Of the forces she spews and the courses she runs Her anger we feel in the gusts of wind Her joy we receive during those summer's that won't end Bliss she shows us on the perfect spring days Just as we catch her tears when she lets go the rain She's made our skin tough through the breath she shares Humid and dense in our heavy air Just as she can let go the wrath of a jilted Queen We use the lessons she's instilled in us to conquer defeat She may send down the rains and conjure lightening to match And we may hear her anger in her thunderous clap She may push through a wind to show us once more And let loose all her might with a powerful storm But she forgets, Mother Nature, you see That her past runs through you and it runs through me A direct line has been made, like the Mississippi to the Gulf Her ways have led us to know just what we're made of For through the years and down the lines Cajun Country's people have risen each time Our defenses may be a direct result of her hands But our spirit we derive from our place on this land And Mother Nature may be an ever present influence But we're children of Louisiana and that means we'll always come through it Rooted in this soil, in the heritage it holds Grateful and honored for the blessings we've been bestowed Generations as far back as one could see Our ties are just as bound as these ancient Cypress trees Rise up Louisiana with the dawning of new light May your pain be healed and hearts filled with might And as the last bit of dew dries up with the sun Feel the embrace of your family in this rooted home you stem from