Best Mardi Poems
Mardi Gras
Ever since the flames licked
my fair pink burning flesh,
nothing in my life has remained the same.
I had to go back in to
save my little brother Chris.
Life without him would kill me,
besides myself I would forever blame.
Even though it’s been ten years,
my face still feels the pain.
Having to go through high school
with a scarred face is just lame.
I’ve got the body of a goddess;
I must admit I’m beautiful from the neck down,
but the hideous burn scars
on my face have remained.
Months after the accident
weeks before school started,
a knock at my door came.
An anonymous donor sent a box
full of beautifully hand decorated
Mardi Gras masks made for only the fairest lady,
that’s the day I got my new name.
Each month a new box of masks
would arrive and I would wear everyone.
I became known as the royal shapely, disfigured lady.
Mardi Gras was my fame.
One night a mysterious white box appeared,
inside rested the most unique and intricately
adorned mask of all. It was a pure white mask adorned
with a delicate French ivory lace, fluffy pure white
dove feathers and shiny white pearls outlined the mask.
White is normally considered lame
but this was breathtaking, nothing plain.
Inside the box was also an
invitation, asking me to attend
the prom with "Masked Bandit" Lane.
I couldn’t believe it! All along it was
my handsome next door neighbor and
Chris' best friend, who had been sending
the ornate masks to me. He was my hero now,
my enthusiasm could hardly be tamed..
Lane had always adored my brother Chris and seemed
to like me too. I always knew he had
a crush on me, but I never knew to what extent.
I rushed over to his house where he was playing
with my brother Chris a heated basketball game.
I hugged him and told him that
I would love to go with him to the prom.
Just between you and me,
Lane and I will always be the
masked King and Queen of Mardi Gras
and forever in love we will reign.
Categories:
mardi, family, fantasy, happiness, imagination,
Form:
Free verse
Mardi Gras parades are rolling the streets again
I watched 'Isis' from inside my windowpane
A king and a queen were pretending to reign
but from the colorful revelry I chose to abstain
I grew up yelling, "Throw me something mister!"
Going to many parades with friends and my sister.
Walked miles on St. Charles Ave. and got a blister
and smiled when a float rider said, "I kissed her!"
I've ridden in several carnival krewes around the city
The floats, the long beads and costumes are pretty
I sang Prof. Longhair's "Go to the Mardi Gras" ditty
but I don't miss taking part. Not one itty bitty.
I began this poem thinking I'd correct a mistake
the BS poet wrote about a breakfast of pancakes.
No one eats that on Mardi Gras. For heaven's sake!
I told him, "Everyone gets Popeye's when they wake"
He read my comment and corrected the wrong date.
I told him he was off by a week, and he didn't hesitate
to delete my words, so I returned, not out of hate
but to ask him why he did that... my curiosity to sate
Another deletion without an explanation. That's BS!
So, I relied on myself to come up with a good guess.
I'd ruffled his ego, making it hard for him to confess
that he knew nothing about Fat Tuesday. He's a mess.
Categories:
mardi, celebration, holiday,
Form:
Rhyme
Beads fly by
Kids grab for candy
Bands play Jazz
Spangled girls
Sweat and sugar sticks to me
Laughter fills the air
Catch the beads
The floats go by us
Look at that
Wonderful
What a way to welcome Lent
First one last Beginet
For the Share a Shadorma contest
Categories:
mardi, holiday,
Form:
Shadorma
Well just how far back do you want me to go?
And how much "crazy" do you need to know?
hmmmmmmmmmmm
Looking back I recall, scared in my shoes
My innocent prank made FRONT PAGE NEWS!
New Orleans Fountain I shall never forget
When I poured a box of Tide in it!
It's smaller than a pond, bigger than a pool
Knew it would "bubble" look real KQQL
As the cars drove down Lakeshore Drive
The windshields were filled up to their eyes
with bursting bubbles in windows rolled down
They covered the Lakefront blew all over town!
I suppose that's the most famous thing I have done!
To the Mardi Gras Fountain from which I did run.
Paper said, "cost millions", much more than I had
But I'm Proud to say ......I invented this fad!
PS- don't tell. . . . .
Categories:
mardi, adventure,
Form:
Rhyme
What is Fat Tuesday?
To disgorge your wicked ways,
be impish and play.
Categories:
mardi, celebration,
Form:
Haiku
Poetry is more than words
it is song
music
and beat
a movement
of dance
of jigs
spins and reels
old and new
coming together
rhyme and meter
of voice
a passion so deep
in language not understood
but felt
breath funnelled
through instruments
evoking sounds
through hands and feet
Rock n Roll moves
operatically
through ears to heart
hips mardi gras en force
from them to us
and in between
a party begins
(Inspired by the notion that every conversation is not just one of words)
Categories:
mardi, humanity, inspirational,
Form:
Free verse
So here's to Happy Tubby Tuesday,
The big New Orleans jazz & blues day,
With the drunken revelers en masse...
On second thought, let's give it a pass.
(sorry)
Categories:
mardi, celebration, march,
Form:
Couplet
fat
Tuesday
pancake day-
mardi gras some
say
Categories:
mardi, celebration,
Form:
Lanterne
Standing in the middle of a circumstance,
Holding both of them in my hands.
They see me as the worst person to be,
But they can’t understand what I really feel.
What the eyes want to see is what they ought to see,
But reality lies only within me.
They can’t understand, because they only stare.
I’m tired of listening but still here I am.
Tears had fallen already from my eyes,
Still they don’t understand why am I like an ice,
What am I made of that they hate?
Am I the only one they see as a mistake?
Crying alone in the oblivion they made,
With this heart shouting for His grace.
Am I a mistake needed to be erased?
Or am I just afraid of the situation I need to face?
Am I a scarlet letter considered as a disgrace?
I need them to tell me.
I want to feel no more.
Silent tears of a face covered with a broken mask.
Categories:
mardi, confusion, depression, friendship, love,
Form:
It's Mardi Gras time down in New Orleans ~ it's a carnival of memes
Where the people sing and play ~ there's music in the streets, both night and day
Everybody's having fun and drinking wine ~ because it's carnival time
"Throw me something mister" as parades go by ~ that's the Mardi Gras cry
Bourbon Street is the place to be ~ if it's boobs you want to see for free
Better part of town is where many go ~ night parades led by Flambeau*
*Flambeau is the name given to men who carry torches as they lead nighttime parades. Long held New Orleans tradition.
Categories:
mardi, celebration,
Form:
Monoku
This Tuesday will be the fat day,
to purge all your sin on the streets.
The sun will bring the ash of Wednesday,
with foreheads displaying the Holy Trinity.
Masks of feathers and gold, beautiful and sublime
People with umbrellas dancing to the second line.
"Laissez bon temps les rouler!"
A Crowd gathers around and shouts.
Surrounded by large floats, that make leeway.
As colorful beads are tossed out.
Forty days of abstinence will be approaching soon
It's the night to drain all your vices, under the silver moon.
Categories:
mardi, celebration,
Form:
Rhyme
I love to go to Mardi Gras
And see the girls cast off their bra
As if it were their sole faux-pas
In dancing through their last hurrah
I do not know just where they went
I can not guess what charms were Lent
But I suspect the knight was spent
In screwing odds they might repent
You're sure to hear old-timers say,
"Gather ye rosebuds while ye may"
But ashes mark the end of play
The fun begins on Judgment day!
Categories:
mardi, celebration, christian, holiday, lust,
Form:
Verse
New Orleans
Great fanfare
Parades and festivities
Flamboyance
Glamorous exuberance
Vivid colors
Feathers and costumes
Strings of beads
Strewn everywhere
Loud blaring music
Frenzied partying
Right on through to
Shrove Tuesday
AP: Honorable Mention 2020
Posted on February 23, 2019
Categories:
mardi, celebration, color, fantasy, fun,
Form:
Free verse
Girls Gone Wild
Careful, you may just have a child
Drugs and alcohol plague the alleyway
Stay away as there is a price to pay
Is the meaning of Mardi Gras to go buck wild
Let’s look and see if it’s been defiled
It started as a custom of using all the fats in the house
I wonder if any crumbs were left for a mouse
This was custom as it was the last night to eat rich and fatty foods
I bet this left people in good moods
As it was a ritual to fast and sacrifice a pleasure
In hopes of good health and a great treasure
Mardi Gras is a celebration of life before the somber holiday where we correct our faults and control any desires
In hopes of keeping Satan away with his temptations and fires
Green for faith, purple for justice, and gold for power
This is no time to turn sour
For we all need strength to resist his temptations
And carry ourselves peacefully like the United Nations
In 1887, wow that was long ago
Two French Catholic brothers brought Lent over from a chateau
By 1889, women already exposed their breasts
To the rest
Men in tuxedos and women in lace
Masquerade balls, parades, and costumes were common place
In the late 20th century, commercialization caused more women to show their tatas arousing the men
However it is censored on CNN
This encouraged more people to flood the streets
While Bourbon Street residents charge for lawn seats
This sad state of affairs
Is the heart of making millionaires!
Categories:
mardi, celebration, christian, easter, faith,
Form:
Rhyme
O Mardi Gras, how I long for thee
The carnival season of music and glee
The colorful floats, the beads, and the masks
The joyful crowds, the drinks, and the flasks
I wait by the roadside, eager and keen
To catch a glimpse of the dazzling scene
I hear the trumpets, the drums, and the cheers
I feel the excitement, the thrills, and the tears
O Mardi Gras, how I seek thee
I yearn to witness the splendor and beauty
I crave to partake in the festive delights
I dream of embracing the spirit and sights
I enjoy the parades, I sway, and I groove
I jump and I catch, I smile, and I move
I meet new friends, I chat, and I care
I live in the moment, I thrive, and I share
O Mardi Gras, how I cherish thee
The memory of happiness, the bond, and the spree
The purple, the green, the gold as they sway
The glory of Mardi Gras during the night and day
*I wrote this poem on January 24, 2024, as part of a ’30 days of poetry’ January challenge. This was day 24 and the prompt was: Write about the feelings you experience or things you notice while waiting for something. Since I have lived in Louisiana for the past eight years, I wanted to write an ode to a Mardi Gras parade.
Categories:
mardi, celebration, day, happiness, night,
Form:
Rhyme