Throw Me Somethin’, Mistah! (Malaina White

Throw Me Somethin’, Mistah! (Malaina White - New Iberia, LA)

Perched on shoulders

Tiny arms outstretched in air

Waiting

The pageantry passing

Slowly rolling

Blessings bestowed

With beads

And other trinkets

In the royal colors

The societies

Both secret and public

Crowning kings and queens

In masquerade

They dine and dance

In elegant refinements

By invitation only

The carriages

Floats adorned in theme

Musical and flamboyant

Political, satirical, lyrical

Set apart by marching bands

Baton twirlers and dancers

Beauty queens and local jesters

We stand all day

On streets below

Begging for treasure

Amassing gold, green, and purple

Made in China

Crying out for recognition

For a prized coconut

Cup or coin

Something special

Something only for us

As the last float fades

The final marcher rests

The batons stop

Beads lay

In streets and gutters

Hung in trees

Tangled in fences

And wires

We take to our homes

Or to the bars

The revelry

Of the masses

This is ours

It is the religion

Of the believer, backslider, and non-believer all

It is our tribute

To our home

To the mud beneath

And the blood within

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