A Smile and a Drawl

For the beautiful city of Charleston, South Carolina

Charleston, South Carolina has a heartbeat all its own,
     Steady and slow,
The sound is St. Michael’s bell that has rung like clockwork
     For three-hundred years,
     Like an uncracked Liberty Bell
          Through two wars, slavery and civil rights,
And always it sings, “sweet freedom” as it tolls the hour
Over cobblestone streets and tourists taking carriage rides.

Couples still do their promenade on the Battery,
First down from their homes and back
     on Sundays after mandatory church,
With sea spray splashing on white fancy frocks
     and white planters’ suits,
The sound of Palmetto branches rattling
     In the sultry breeze,
          barely audible between the roaring roll of waves.

Rainbow Row, its softly rainbow colored houses
     Turned sideways to the road
     Each facing a garden with intricately designed wrought iron gates,
     And walls of tabby, oyster shells
          peeking out from accidental artistically placed patches.

It’s a matter of pride that only a few blocks away
Porgy met Bess and sang “Summertime” from a porch
     less well kept but sideways to the main road.
          It’s Charleston, after all.
And there’s always ambiance, a smile and a drawl.

Reviews

[Bubo]

Sounds stunning!!Not knowing much about Charleston this was lovely, rich warm words and a sense of pride!
With sea spray splashing on white fancy frocks
and white planters� suits,
The sound of Palmetto branches rattling
In the sultry breeze,
barely audible between the roaring roll of waves.
This imagary was lovely..............would love to be there now!

[Being.john.sweet~The Ev..]

this took me right away! the scenes you paint we masterful and quiet, just like the south. peace to you~john

[Chris Bighorse]

"It�s a matter of pride that only a few blocks away
Porgy met Bess and sang �Summertime� from a porch
less well kept but sideways to the main road."

I like this part the best. Maybe it's because I can see two old ladies in rocking chairs with their crochet needles and balls of yarn next to them. Maybe that not the original sentiment you were going for but I really like the lines that are deeper than they seem. As for the rest of the poem, I liked it but this line really jumped out at me and begged me to read deeper. I think it's a shame I had to wait to near the end to read it, but it's placement is perfect. It's a sweet image after we read about the street they live on and it's stand-still attration. Now that I think about it, I really like the third stanza as well, because it illustrated the three hundred years the bell went through without using the words, like these tabby's and oysters were always there. Anyway, good poem.

[Cynthia L. Cavett]

Oh this was very nice!! What a colorful and vivid image you have given to a place that I now want to visit!

The sound of Palmetto branches rattling
In the sultry breeze,
barely audible between the roaring roll of waves.

Oh how lovely - this was a perfect description of a place the narrator holds near and dear to them. Well done!

[Antony]

Porgy and Bess, my all time favorite. I don't know much about the south, except what I have read over the years, and you capture that in this poem.
Tony

[TL Boehm]

This brings up a vision of horses clip clopping over cobblestones as couples glide under parasols, through the magnolia scented evening. A wonderful poem.

[Narnie]

and there's always ambiance, a smile and a drawl.

Beautiful last line that sums up everything that went before. Extremely atmospheric poem. Congrats :)

[G. Cedillo]

great descriptions, felt like a postcard or a commercial - the humble omniscient voice you carry through out the piece has the golden resonance of a narrator walking through the streets introducing everyone if this were a broadway play (Thornton Wilder would be impressed, i think)

one thing, maybe - in Rainbow Row, maybe don't describe the houses as being "rainbow" again, use something else... i dunno, its being picky i know but with a piece this stylistically wonderful i got nothing else to say
you should do an entire series of places and cities, that'd be awesome, like Sufjan Stevens or something, lol hmm
keep writing and i'll keep reading,
g.

[Crap!]

Great piece of downhome here. I loved it. Good descriptive work!

[Gandré]

You are not only a poet but a painter of scenery. Your knowledge of word value is as profound as your knowledge of color, and it is largely for this reason, because you have carried over the eye and method of art into the field of poetry, that the fresh, living forms you have created seem so tangible.

[Shandy I. Mangra]

I enjoyed this piece. It was a wonderfully vivid description of Charleston. As a reader I can tell you love this place very much. No?