NEW ORLEANS 2005
Nobody wants to leave Shangri La
When the Chinese invaded Tibet
they sent the Dalai Lama
and a ream of Rimpoches
rolling down from the
High Himalayas
and out across the world
And the world is better for it
Nobody wants to leave the city
where all the rivers lead
From the Missouri Breaks in Montana
through Minneapolis and Memphis
the gold and good earth
of America’s heart
all heads for the delta
and gathers in Basin Street
and sings
Hurricane Katrina reversed the flow
pushed it back up the river
and across the land
and America may be the better for it