My City Was Gone

adaptation of the Chrissie Hynde and
The Pretenders’ song

Henry went back to New Orleans
but his city was gone,
there was no downtown,

Canal Street was a canal,
Bourbon Street was inundated
with a dirty bourbon brown.

All of Henry’s favorite places
and all of Henry’s favorite races were gone.
Astonishing what nature erases.

Henry was stunned and amazed,
his childhood memories
were floating blocks away,

you couldn’t tell the difference
between Pancho Villa and Pontchartrain.
The wind swirled in the trees

when Henry went back to New Orleans
and his city was gone.
The government’s bloody hands

were paved-over like the remains of Jimmy Hoffa
and the President stayed on vacation
while Henry’s city faced damnation.