Y'all come back now, y'hear? :)

Rising on a flood
of dogged determination,
the South meets any
challenge presented in the wind.
They might have lost the
war, but they won this Yankee's heart
by accepting me
for who I am with open arms
and some of the most
delicious food I've ever had.
No one's a stranger;
all are welcomed to enter here;
everyone's a friend.
The pace of life is
molasses slow, even in town;
no hurry/hurry
rush to get ahead/fall behind
for me...I'll just sit
on the front porch swing
sipping ice cold tea and waving
"Hi!" to the neighbors;
their accent invites
you to drop in and set a spell.
History takes great
importance here; pride in who they
are and who they were
shines in their architecture and
laughs in their music;
there's a joie-de-vivre
that can't be found anywhere else
except the South.
That's why I believe
the South's gonna do it again;
like a Phoenix
emerging from the ashes, they
will rebuild, bigger
and better than they were before...
I am glad I'll be
here to witness the South's rebirth.

(c) 2005, Karla Dorman.