Fever Dream

oh the day was so hot

on st. anthony street

that I slept on my cot

without even a sheet

when I crept to the door

and I cracked it a peek

in the weather did pour

like a pipe sprung a leak

so I slipped on my kicks

and the dress with the scoop

and I did up my lips

and stepped out on the stoop

where the light was so lush

and the air was so sweet

I fell into a hush

in the feverish heat

oh, summer in new orleans

so sudden and stranger than a

fever dream

so I walk to the west

on the cobbles and bricks

mockingbird in a nest

talks in cackles and clicks

tall magnolia trees

when I turn to the south

press their bliss to the breeze

like a kiss to the mouth

so I sat on a stump

til there passed a parade

where the drummers all thumped

and the trumpets all played

til a thundercloud breaks

with a rumble and crack

and the streets turn to lakes

and the people turn back

oh, summer in new orleans

so sudden and stranger than a

fever drea

now I sit on the deck

with the rain on the roof

and the dog is a wreck

and the cat is aloof

and the city don’t sleep

but she crawls into bed

with a grin in her teeth

and a song in her head