She sails where the bayou kisses the tide,
a phantom queen with a mournful glide.
The paddle churns, though no hands steer,
and jazz floats faint on a breeze unclear.
Her lanterns burn with a ghostly hue,
casting gold on waters black and blue.
No passengers board, no voices ring--
just whispers soft as a violin string.
The captain’s hat is dust and bone,
his eyes like coals, his soul long gone.
He tips his brim to the moonlit shore,
forever sailing, seeking more.
Beneath her decks are cards and gin,
dice that roll where life wore thin.
The laughter echoes through the years--
a masquerade of silent cheers.
They say she sank in 'twenty-four,
but rose again with something more.
A curse, a pact, or prayer gone wrong--
now midnight is her siren song.
If you hear her horn on a still, dark night,
don’t follow the sound or seek the light.
For once aboard, you’ll never disembark--
your name etched in the ledger of the dark.
Alesia Leach © 4/2025
Once upon a time
the old songs were new
On prairies unplanted
invaders were few
Where rivers rolled onward
no ferries or towns
All riverboat minstrels
new ages impound
The time of the season
unmeasured refrain
And cursed belladonna
tomorrow to reign
As butterfly’s wander
o’er questions unasked
A dark shrouded answer
— the future unmasks
(Dreamsleep: April, 2025)
Riverboat on the Mississippi
Folks dining on scrimp, grits, and cornbread
Drinking booze and gambling like crazy
Going to Bourbon Street just ahead
Down in that Cajun Queen, New Orleans
The big paddle wheel keeps on rolling
Down to the Cajun Queen of the Gulf
Where the real money is unfolding
And a thousand green bucks is small stuff
Down in that Cajun Queen, New Orleans
The big paddle wheel keeps on churning
Black coal keeps that steam boiler humming
Noxious fumes from the smokestack blowing
Nightlife on Bourbon Street is jumping
Down in that Cajun Queen, New Orleans
Cathedral spires standing very tall
Off Canal, near downtown Bourbon Street
Near a hotel by a shopping mall
Where folk are getting some daytime sleep
Down in that Cajun Queen, New Orleans
They wait for night, ‘til just after dark,
To find the places of blues, jazz, and rap
A swamp of raunchy acts, joints, and bars
Folk can get caught like mice in a trap
Down in that Cajun Queen, New Orleans
Excitement filled the air as the calliope played
News spread the famed steamboat was near,
Its whimsical gingerbread trimmings displayed.
The whole town would rush to the esplanade
As the wildly anticipated boat pulled into pier,
Excitement filled the air as the calliope played.
If an overnighter, folks walked the promenade,
Marveling at its size and the exquisite exterior
Its whimsical gingerbread trimmings displayed.
I had heard one could go onboard, if one paid
Even get to see a riverboat show, a premiere.
Excitement filled the air as the calliope played.
What a difference Delta Queen’s arrival made!
Soon she would be decommissioned, the fear
Its whimsical gingerbread trimmings displayed.
I remember well how by the riverbank she lade
Like a fabulous ornate coffin lying upon the bier
Excitement filled the air as the calliope played
Its whimsical gingerbread trimmings displayed.
Written April 6, 2022
[The Delta Queen, a national treasure, has not
travelled the Ohio River on a regular schedule
since the 1970s.]
I sat in a flop house common room
Doing social research one Christmas Eve,
Galveston in '79, I do believe.
I was there in a room full of strangers.
Sammy Davis and Old Blue Eyes
Sang on the TV tube that night;
A yuletide show with poor reception,
Snowy picture, black and white.
They played to an audience of losers.
Nobody there seemed much alive.
Their blank stares watching pissed on dreams
Too extinguished to revive.
It’s just the luck of the draw.
No one expects a miracle to happen.
Once I did believe in some high ideals,
The kind they like to teach you as a child.
Now the shoe is firmly on the other foot,
The upshot when you’ve walked a crooked mile.
Life turns about like a riverboat game.
Can’t be troubled second guessing.
There’s no predicting how fortunes may change.
Even bad luck is sometimes a blessing.
If the hand I hold is lead or gold,
There’s no clearer tell than a blush.
I’m betraying no rumors regarding the deal,
Sitting one card short of a flush.
So I’ll just trust in the draw
And hope for something wonderful to happen.
glare eye to eye
gin ship lie stuck
spent idle lost
11/25/20202
Than-Bauk Me Poetry Contest
Sponsored by: charles messina
A Than-Bauk poem consists of 3 lines.
Each line consists of 4 syllables.
The last syllable of the 1st line,
The 3rd syllable of the second line
And the 2nd syllable of the third line.
Mississippi Moments
History journeys along with its meandering flow as
a wide birth from bank to bank has eyes straining
trying to see across to the other side, far too wide.
Muddy rivulets stirred up by the river boats drift by
and my dreams become intertwined with what
I have read and the sleepy house boats floating near
the banks that the river dwellers call home.
A huge stainless steel arch with its catenary curve
looms gracefully nearby as a gateway of welcome,
built as a monument to Thomas Jefferson and the
pioneers who braved making their way to St. Louis,
why it is fondly called “the Gateway to the West.”
I felt as if the Arch was paying homage to the mighty
Mississippi with its tall shadow falling on her erratic waters.
Children were waving from the banks at contented tourists
waving back as they drifted slowly by and time stood still
with the music of the river taverns mingling with the
contrasting sounds of riverboat whistles, and I drifted along
with them sensing serene pleasure into another time and place.
I love the child who steers this riverboat,
Though he seems crazy, for the deep.
The river seems dreamlike, in the moonlight--
Someone keeps creeping, in my sleep.
And dreams, of rolling river--
Of water swell, and waves that creep
Upon the beach while in the moonlight glow,
Surprise the sands, and the corals sweep.
Sail on, you rolling river,
Of choice and chance, and misty dream--
My reverie upon the deep,
That haunts my soul, but will not keep!
M :)
Hanging With The Moon
Moving to the deep hollow
rhythm of the double bass
coupled the with
dance of the piano keys
and the slow cadence of the guitar strum.
This Master of Jazz carries me away,
off to an old flowing riverboat,
cruising off into the sunset,
taking my restless feet with it,
so I can hang with the Moon,
for a while.
JAZZ
porch light midnights
your voodoo kisses
drifting in the fog to
french quarter sidewalks
walking on the ghosts
of southern intimacy
antique balconies with
green wooden shutters
half shadows of you and i
sweet handmade pralines
floating on a cypress stump
walking on water for
a taste of you
casting your spell
with your chicken foot wand
you melt me into
the mississippi delta
pour me out on bourbon street
dancing in your trance
seductive velvet hips
speaking the language
of the mimes
i stumble in your stare
a riverboat gambler
with a tarot card hand
tempting my fate
in your eyes
misty moonlight dust lines
cover your seductive curves
take me with your erotic flair
bring me back home
the creaking of the front porch
drowns me in its painted glow
mosquitoes buzz
as i taste the flood
the ruby red lips
that are your voodoo kisses
I was on the road to hell one day
and then Jesus stopped the bus
He told the devil "you can't have this soul
because she is one of us"
He then took me off that riverboat going to Hades
and placed me on a yacht sailing towards salvation
He then covered me with the sacrificial blood
and paid the fare for my justification
Now I'm a true disciple of Christ
heading in the right direction
and one day I will be standing
before the throne of God's heavenly perfection
so I bless the Lord each day
and I pray to Him every night
I thank Him for showing me The Way
to be acceptable in His sight
Take me back to the River,
To a riverboat ride at night,
Moonlight dancing on the water -
Glistening diamonds in the light.
Take me back to the River,
To the brilliant desert sky,
A prism of colors dance at dusk -
So breathtaking to the eye.
Take me back to the River,
Ducklings swimming to and fro,
Water lapping at the shore
With nowhere else to go.
Take me back to the River,
To the romance of the night,
Music whispered soft and low –
To the arms that held me tight.
Take me back to the River,
Let my beloved always be there,
Keep love warm with anticipation –
Keep the promise two hearts share.
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