Do you love poetry? Check out these poems about the history, culture and taste of Louisiana

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana (BRPROUD) — Are you a poetry fan? There are several poems based on our home state of Louisiana for readers to read.

We’ve put together some in different styles on the Pelican State theme. From short to long, each one tells a different story.

According to Britannica, a poem is “a piece of text, usually using figurative language and written in single lines that often have a repeated rhyme and sometimes rhyme.”

Contemporary writers have brought a modern perspective to their works, and several authors have used Louisiana as their muse. Walt Whitman wrote several odes to the state and set his works there.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow also wrote the famous epic poem Evangeline: A Tale of Acadie about the historic expulsion of the Acadians from Canada to Louisiana. The story is about love and hope and follows the people now known as the Cajuns.

Check out some of these poems about Louisiana the next time you want to read more about the state we live in or look at it from a new perspective.

“Louisiana Swamp Poem” was written by New Orleans native Sheryl St. Germain. This poem tells the story of a journey through an eerie swamp that leads to personal freedom.

According to State Symbols USA, the poem “I am Louisiana” was declared the state’s official cultural poem in 2006. The author of the poem is Paul Ott. One of the lines of the poem is, “I am Spanish moss on a Virginia oak, Cajun fried shrimp, and a cypress knee.”

“I saw a Virginia oak growing in Louisiana” is one of the many poems Whitman wrote. In the poem, he describes a lonely oak tree thriving without compassion or support.

“In Louisiana” was written by Albert Bigelow Paine, who was born in New Bedford, Massachusetts. One of the lines is, “A shallow, stagnant inland sea, where luxuriant marsh grasses sway, and where something deadly lurks in the air.”

“That Music Always Round Me” is another poem by Whitman in which he celebrates the harmony and beauty deeply rooted in music.

One of the lines of the poem, “The Mississippi at Midnight,” reads: “Then, by the cunning of our swift motion, Straight, great giants, a mighty army, Rank by rank, like the waves of the ocean, march stiffly past the shore.” This poem was also written by Whitman.

“Even in Gretna, Hearing the Cashier Talk, I Long for Gretna” was written by poet Alison Pelegrin. In the poem, Pelegrin gives readers a glimpse into her life growing up.

“Louisiana Line” was written by Betty Adcock. One of the lines of the poem is, “The wooden smell of the wagons, the sweat of the animals, these places keep everything, the breath of the cotton gin, the black damp floors of the ice house.”

“Louisiana On My Mind” was written by Carson Burton. One of the lines of the poem is, “I sit back and remember the days when the boot was a place I called home, and in my heart it’s still my damn home.”

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