Megann - I Will Defend...

I will defend my city, 
the lights on the lake, the beads in the trees,
the shoes on the power lines
I will defend

I will defend the crumbling tombstones,
the rusted gates, the swaying oaks,
the blood in the street, 
I will defend 

I will defend the cobblestone streets, 
the plastic cups of Bourbon, the broken signs,
the waterlines,
I will defend

I will defend the cracks of the Causeway,
the brown, brown river, the oil-slick birds
the magnolia breeze,
I will defend

Megann, age 16

Brittany - I Will Defend

New Orleans Saints Super bowl Champs 2010

Who Dat say they gonna beat them saints?

No one! No one!

I will defend this city

I will defend this title

I will defend this community

WE have pride

WE have an obsession

WE bleed black and gold

WE are supporters and defenders of the New Orleans Saints

Who will reign as champions?

Brittany, age 16

Catie - I Will Defend

Cardinals

The phrase “I will defend” or the theme of the volleyball team, “I will protect this house”

Not only a theme, yet a phrase that is backed up with such passion

Honoring your school and teammates in the way you play the game

Helping one another out every chance you get

You are a team

Uniforms are only a part of what unite you

Fans

Red shirts

Red socks

The intense faces of the players

Hands flying everywhere

The look of exhilaration and stimulation after scoring a point

Anticipation for the ball to come back over

Creeping up on the other team point by point until reaching victory or defeat

The feeling of knowing you gave it your all and left it all on the court

Content; you did your job and defended your school’s pride.

 Catie, age 15

Brittany - Pride

Shark Pride
Do not abide
Or confide
Push the cleaner fish aside
Do not pay the helper any mind
You have your pride
Glide through the sea with closed eyes
Stay inside and hide

Brittany, age 15

Anonymous - Pride

Pride in Our City—

Jazz Fest

Mardi Gras

Voodoo Fest

Culture

Food

But the greatest of all, Black and Gold + Superdome.

No one will understand the thrill and rush that a New Orleanian gets when the Saints win. Although they can be viewed as just a team, they are a symbol of pride for each individual.

We take pride in our city, but what would pride be for New Orleans without the Saints? 

Anonymous, age 15

Anna - I Will Defend

I will defend the things I believe,

That is the only way people will achieve

The goals we place, and attempt to make,

Trying to overcome the challenges we take.

Force yourself to believe and defend,

Who knows? You might start a new trend.

Helping others to defend what is right,

Don’t go down without a fight.

You will defend.

You will defend your ideas and beliefs,

Standing strong against your own motifs.

We will all defend the actions we make,

Even if they are big mistakes.

Defend your actions, defend your talk,

To which people disagree you should never balk.

I will defend.

Anna Marie, age 16

Francie - I Will Defend...

I will defend
those who cannot defend themselves,
I will defend
what I think is right. 
I will defend 
those who defend themselves. 
I will defend 
those who are trying to make a change. 



Francie, age 16

Chelsea - I Will Defend...

I will defend New Orleans

New Orleans I will defend

I will defend my self

Self I will defend

The Saints defend New Orleans

New Orleans defends the saints

I will defend

Defend I will

Chelsea, age 15

Leira - Pride

A Lioness’s Pride

Pride

A Lion Pride

Pride Rock

Like Lion King 3D

My 17th Birthday Gift

Special Day to Me

Like my Name Meaning

Special Name to Me

Lioness of God

So speaks Sylvia Plath

Or Lion if I were Male

But I am not Male

I am a Female

A Lioness

With a Lion’s Pride

A Female Pride

An Older Pride

My Pride in Me

I am the Lioness

This is my Pride


Leira, age 17

Anonymous - Anticipation

Dreaming, losing sleep
Anticipating something magical,
A night with dancing
And my prince charming—
My first and only prince charming,
My first and last night to fall in love
And become popular.

It felt like an eternity
Before this magical night arrived;
My anticipation growing
My heart pounding,
And my stomach growling.
Staring at my dress in the mirror
Feeling somewhat like a princess;
Shaking from nerves,
And my first two-inch heels,
Or…
Possibly from the thought of meeting the opposite species.

Arriving awkwardly early,
I nearly fainted
Walking into the party.
I saw it.
A boy.

Anonymous, age 16

Elizabeth - Anticipation

Waiting for the day to come
Soon it will be Friday
Anticipation

The day draws nearer
Nervous chatter among the high school
Brings around rivalries
Anticipation

Who will win?
Best dance?
Most spirited?
Dodge ball champion?
Best costume?
Greatest cheers?
Anticipation

Intense, suspenseful and FUN
Making posters
and costume skirts Friday morning
Anticipation

Today is the day
It has finally arrived
Anticipation

Learned the dance? Check.
Made posters? Check.
Completed the costumes? Check.
Anticipation

Finally the competition begins.
The dances are finished, dodge ball has been played
Which grade will come in first?
Anticipation

The judges deliberate
The winner is announced
And it is……

Elizabeth, age 16

Brooke - Who Dat

Pulse.

Stand Up and Get Crunk.

               How vulgar. How am I a part of this?

Crunch.

The whole of the dome

Encompassed in sweat

Thunk.

            Oh God.

Irony

If I am the catholic school girl.

Who speaks in articulate, perfect sentences.

            How dare you use a dangling modifier.

prim.proper

          Pleated skirt

Jersey.

Both overpriced.

          Shudder at subject verb agreement

Cringe. OH beautiful Brees.

who cares.

          I don’t.

“WHO DAT.”

Brooke, age 16

Sarah-Ford - Anticipation

I took it Monday

I get it back Friday

The hours of studying

For what?

The stress

The anticipation

Waiting, wondering

Finally it’s Friday

Sarah-Ford, age 16

Anonymous - Who Dat

WHO DAT, 
two words 
mean so much more 
than any non-neworleanian could know. 

ONE TEAM, 
who fought for something, 
something that changed the mood
of a devastated city,
and united a now unstoppable community.  

WHO DAT,
two words,
forever engraved in our hearts,
forever a part of our lives, 
forever a phenomenon.  



Anonymous, age 16

Maeve - Anticipation

I wait,
and hope that the tiny munching
of the bugs in my walls have stopped.
Standing stock still and hearing the
CRUNCH, CRUNCH, CRUNCH
of tiny demolition crews eating away at the structural integrity of my house.
But now,
I hold in my hands the poison
that will cause a vast exodus, expelling
thousands of those unwanted,
disgusting creatures from within a block radius.
My skin tingles with anticipation.
My finger is on the trigger, ready
for the mass genocide that is about to take place.
Those termites won’t know what hit them.

Maeve, age 16

Ashley - Who Dat

WHO D@T!

New Orleanians are who d@ts.

We bleed black and gold.

We play with integrity,

but we play to win.

On February 7, 2010 the Saints proved that NOLA is back;

After 43 years we have something to be proud of.

Every game night, whether Sunday, Monday, or Thursday,

our city comes together to cheer on our team.

Bless them boys for bringing pride back to our city,

for making our dome an icon.

Now we have something to be proud of,

something to cheer on.

GEAUX SAINTS!

Ashley, age 17

Lillie - Anticipation

 [ an-tis-uh-pey-shuh ]

the waiting for that moment, that one instance of aha

the anticipation is coming home, not for artificial comfort

                but for that feeling.

not exactly pinpointing what it means, but knowing it’s there.

the je ne sais quoi  c’est mon raison d’être in the background.

                the (treesonst.charles)(potholesoneverystreet)(moldingonthebalconies)(foreverpuddlesbythepark)

                                make the [ an-tis-uh-pey-shuh ] worth it.

Lillie, age 16

Ruthie - Anticipation

Sitting in the classroom with a clock stuck between 4 and 5
Thinking songs on my stereo are all I can write down
Script letters saying HELP
Scrawled.
I really do like this class
its just
Friday and I’ve got babysitting cash
and streetcar tokens
and summer season is almost over.
There’s maybe four good snowball days left
and you are crazy if you don’t think
I’m wasting my money
on Hansen’s today.

Ruthie, age 16

Courtney - Who Dat

who dat a phrase known to everyone
from new orleans
has just the right jingle when
everyone screams it at a game
or even in someones living room
alone by yourself
it all sounds the same
the anticipation oozes out of it
with every time it comes out
of our mouths
the spirit and excitement behind this phrase
is normal to locals
but to everyone else it
is something that cannot be understood

Courtney, age 16

Torre - Anticipation

Patience, anticipation

I sit quietly in my room waiting for the time to come

After so many days keeping us silently apart,

The minutes feel like hours slowly creeping by,

Hours upon hours until I can be wrapped in our warm essence and aroma

 Filled with the sweet taste of love,

I can already feel your arms around me as I make my way down Decatur Street,

Your golden brown skin glistening in the light of the brightly illuminated café;

My heart races with anticipation and zest as I see you enter

With a white powder-like cloth covering yourself,

Oh, dear Café Du Monde,

I thank thee for reuniting me with my beignet 

Torre, age 16

Ashley - Anticipation

Driving down St. Charles Avenue
Like you’ve done a million times before
Yet, this time feels different
You feel a whole new freedom
You roll down the windows and let down your hair
Like you are the cliché in a cheesy movie
You feel unstoppable
But then reality hits you
As you get closer and closer to the
Big, red light
Its inevitable stop just waiting to welcome you
Anticipating the red turning to green
The clock is ticking; the song on the radio has alreadychanged,
Your foot is hovering over the gas pedal
The guy next to you is trying to scarf down a hamburgerbefore the light turns green
While banging his head back and forth to some rap song
This light couldn’t be any longer…


Ashley, age 16

Megann - Anticipation

You pack your bags and move on out 
with your stuffed rabbit and your striped sweater
and follow that crowded street to mystery 
farther
         and farther
                         away from 
the skylight and the curved metal of the bridges
the bleach white dome and the Mississippi

you take your striped sweater and you stretch it over your eyes 
and cry on that black top road to nowhere. 

months pass and anticipation fades your second-hand foreign uniform 
your forced white tennis shoes are gray
tomorrow is homecoming day

you pack your bags and move on out
with your stuffed rabbit and your striped sweater
and follow that crowded street back 
                                                                  home. 

Megann, age 16

Leira - Anticipation

Feelings of Fall in New Orleans

What is this?

This feeling

Is it excitement?

Yes

No

Not exactlty

What is it?

The weather

Still so warm

Yet some days cool

Windy

My favorite

New Orleans is hot forever

Except in Winter

But then there is Fall

Neither fully cool

Nor fully warm

My favorite time

The season of red yellow leaves

Except our trees never change

No pretty colors

But still

Autumn in New Orleans

It is still beautiful

Maybe it isn’t the weather

It is something else

A feeling

What is this?

This feeling

Is it excitement?

No

It is Anticipation

For the leaves to never change

For Fall to come

And for the feelings that follow

Leira, age 16

Olivia - Anticipation

There’s that rare occasion of anticipation that’s actually not quite so rare anymore.

It’s the moment of hoping it will all be normal and yet wondering how it ever could be.

And breathing becomes foreign. Rhythms are shattered. Oxygen.no.longer.exists.

Because this is the difference between life and death, in a certain kind of way.

It’s the initial impact of atmosphere that will tell the rest of the story.

That will lead to either one of two endings. There is the occasional welcoming back of
circulation to all parts of the body. Or there is the expected continuation of deprivation of
security.

Although the two are so deeply different, they all end up intertwining in the end because
experience knows that one will never exist without the other soon to follow.

I hope you know that it’s not a question of want, but need. Not alive, but present. Not beside, but
with. Not me, but we.

Olivia, age 17.2109

Brittany - Anticipation

Anticipation is in the air

You can feel it in the breeze

Smell it in the air

Sense it everywhere

Cars crazy causing a traffic mania

Everyone is in a hurry

So many things to do

Food preparation

Parties to oragnize

Black and gold

WHO DAT! WHO DAT!

It’s Game Day!

Brittany, age 16

Stanley - Anticipation

As I revisit this place, I relive our pleasant memories

For it was here where we spent the years of our lives.

We watched the world go by as we danced in these fields

And it was here where we created our own paradise.

Unbeknownst to the world we navigated the arctic tundra,

We swam with all the beasts of the sea;

And even though our troubles were many

When we were here all I could think of was you and me.

In the fall we’d sit here, waiting for the sun to appear in anticipation,

We never failed to miss a sunrise any breezy autumn day

And even though the innocence of our youth fled from us,

Hands interlaced, Apollo’s chariot never failed to greet us just the same.

With church bells ringing, “Till death do we part” was a vow we later said

And I can’t help but think that isn’t true

Because even though you’re gone, and returned to dust,

When I’m here, I can feel your presence: I’m standing, right next to you.

Stanley, age 15

Matty - Who Dat

If you live here,
You’re a Who Dat.
(And I don’t mean “New Orleans, Louisiana is my place ofresidence” live here
I mean, live here, like “you cantake the girl out of New Orleans but you can’t take the New Orleans out of thegirl, this place courses through my veins, I wouldn’t touch jambalaya with a tenfoot pole if it’s from anywhere outside the great state of Louisiana” livehere. )
The owls whisper “Whoooo”
The toads rumble “Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat dat.”
The cicadas crawl out of the soil and reach out with all 6legs just to sigh “Whodatwhodatwhooodaat” in a low rumble
It’s really impossible to miss if you’re listening.
One stranger at the bar yells “WHO DAT?!” and the wholeplace erupts into a song everyone just knows the words to.
We are Who Dats because people look at us and say
               Who Datcity whose beauty can be found in Magnolia blossoms, used book stores, andtrees that make their home in the sidewalk cement?
               Who Datcity with the bright lights that never flicker, even when they’re looking eyeto eye with the storm?
               Who Datcity with the owls, and the toads, and the cicadas, and the late-night partyanimals who never stop singing?
It’s a wonderfully simple answer:  we Dat.


Matty, age 16

Amy - Anticipation

For as long as I remember,

Every June until September

Started a new hurricane season

That brought fear that exceeded all logical reason

Waiting for the news reports in anticipation,

But mostly we think nothing of the increased precipitation

The rest of the country wonders why we say we are proud to swim home,

But little do they know, this is the one city that we are proud to call our own

This is the time of year that we can only hope and pray

That our houses and levees are strong enough to withstand another day

Amy - age 17

Melissa - Anticipation

Stage Fright

I am drenched in perspiration, while flooded with anticipation.

Pulse races, hands shake.

Temperature rising, mouth dries.

I ponder the paradoxes of anxiety.

Why is it that while all of the clocks are melting, it feels as though time is freezing?

And why does the air seem to grow more and more scarce when we are wheezing?

Lights are blinding.

Sounds--deafening.

The very same lights and sounds I willingly approached,

And will continuously approach because they are my home.

When I am able to focus, however, I realize that I am alone

In front of all of these people

Although I cannot see them, I know they’re there.

I stumble saunter from the wings onto the stage

On my face, a Cheshire grin appears

From ear to ear,

And I think to myself,

God,

What am I doing here?

Melissa, age 17

Holly - Anticipation

Crowds flock the arena,
And football chants roar through the sea of people.
Anticipation builds as the New Orleans Saints prepare to take the field.

The Who Dat Nation has gone far too long without donning their game day time attire.
Their time away from the Saints has caused enthusiasm to build inside them.
Everyone is waiting…
Waiting for the whistle that will bring an end to their off season silence and mark the start of a
new season.

The whistle is blown.
Everyone is silent, cautiously waiting for the first snap of the ball.
3…2…1…
The ball is snapped.
Who Dats amplify their cheers so that the away team realizes who’s gonna run the show.

With the first scores on the board, the Who Dat Nation knows what is to come this season.
This knowing only makes their chants grow louder and louder until
the game ends.

Holly, 16