MEET MY MISSISSIPPI " As Mississippi's State Poem

I am so passionate about Promoting a Positive Mississippi ... especially to the youth of our state
I want to use my poem "Meet My Mississippi " to help to teach the children of our state ( and people of all ages ) some important things about Mississippi in a way that can be easily remembered/recalled.
The state song, the state motto, the state tree the state bird and the state capitol are all included in the poem..along with other famous landmarks and people of Mississippi 

MEET MY MISSISSIPPI
Faulkner's Sanctuary
Eudora's home state
Elvis' birthplace
The bulk of the Trace;
Sprawling beaches
Along the Gulf Coast shore
One blues man's crossroads
And inspiration for more;
An abundance of history
Tradition and folklore
Warm front porch welcomes
With a wide open door;
A ride down the mighty river
On the American Queen
And some of the most
Beautiful countryside
That you've ever seen
She's music and melodies
And the mockingbird's songs,
By valor and arms
And faith ever strong;
She's magnolias blooming
Around Jackson's capitol dome
And the sweet scent of honeysuckle
That forever says "home"
She's My Mississippi
She's "The Hospitality State"
"Go Mississippi"
You're a true State of Grace
 Patricia Neely-Dorsey @2013

THE POEM "MEET MY MISSISSIPPI "
CAN BE USED AS A TEACHING TOOL FOR ALL AGES
An easy way to introduce...and prompt discussion on
elements included in the poem:

STATE BIRD...mockingbird
STATE TREE :magnolia
STATE FLOWER...magnolia
STATE CAPITOL: Jackson, MS
STATE MOTTO: "By valor and arms"
STATE SONG: "Go Mississippi " (keep rolling along)
STATE NICKNAME: Hospitality State
FAMOUS MISSISSIPPIANS: William Faulkner,
Eudora Welty, Elvis Presley

PLEASE HELP MAKE "MEET MY MISSISSIPPI " 
THE STATE POEM!
HELP MAKE HISTORY....AND BE A PART OF MISSISSIPPI HISTORY!!!
I need LOTS and LOTS of signatures to help this pass when 
it comes up for a vote in the legislature !
PLEASE SIGN PETITION !      PLEASE SHARE !
If you know someone in the House or Senate please encourage 
them to VOTE FOR MEET MY MISSISSIPPI AS STATE POEM

Meet My Mississippi - Make this OUR state poem!

				Meet My Mississippi - Make this OUR state poem! I just visited www.ipetitions.com and signed an important petition. I really care about this cause and hope you'll show your support for it.
				View on www.ipetitions.com

While forty-two U.S. states have an official poet laureate or state writer, only five states have an official state poem.
Indiana-Adopted 1963
Massachusetts, Adopted 1981
New Mexico- Adopted 1921
Oklahoma Adopted 1941
Tennessee-Adopted 1973

READ the other state poems on my page ! (Only 5 states have state poems)

OMG!!!!We would have the BEST, Most Representative,Descriptive (of the state) poem BY FAR !
But..Then Again...,I might be just a little biased !!! LOL

Tell me what you think !

INDIANA STATE POEM .

Title: "Indiana"
Author:Arthur Franklin Mapes

Legislation Recognizing Official Status:
Adopted in 1963 by the General Assembly; codified in IC 1-2-5.

Poem Text:
Indiana

God crowned her hills with beauty,
Gave her lakes and winding streams,
Then He edged them all with woodlands
As the settings for our dreams.
Lovely are her moonlit rivers,
Shadowed by the sycamores,
Where the fragrant winds of Summer
Play along the willowed shores.
I must roam those wooded hillsides,
I must heed the native call,
For a Pagan voice within me
Seems to answer to it all.
I must walk where squirrels scamper
Down a rustic old rail fence,
Where a choir of birds is singing
In the woodland...green and dense.
I must learn more of my homeland
For it's paradise to me,
There's no haven quite as peaceful,
There's no place I'd rather be.
Indiana...is a garden
Where the seeds of peace have grown,
Where each tree, and vine, and flower
Has a beauty...all its own.
Lovely are the fields and meadows,
That reach out to hills that rise
Where the dreamy Wabash River
Wanders on...through paradise.

MASSACHUSETTS STATE POEM.
Title:"Blue Hills of Massachusetts"
Author:Katherine E. Mullen
Legislation Recognizing Official Status:
Adopted in 1981 by the General Court; codified in General Laws, Chapter 2, Section 21.

Poem Text:
"Blue Hills of Massachusetts"
by Katherine E. Mullen

Massachusetts! Massachusetts!
Lovely Bay State by the sea,
Chosen by the Pilgrim Fathers
In their search for liberty.
Massachusetts! Massachusetts!
How we love your Indian name!
Meaning "Great Blue Hill" in Boston,
Named before the white men came.

High locations in the distance,
Are serene, majestic blue,
Like Mount Greylock or Wachusett,
They are fascinating, too.

But from Boston to the Berkshires,
Lesser heights are bathed in blue,
In early dawn or distance,
Like the "Great Hill" Indians knew.

Close to Nature lived the Red Man,
Keen to every form and hue,
Knew the paths, and streams, and wildlife,
And the hills around him, too.

On the wide base of "Great Blue Hill,"
Lived the Massachuset tribe,
Kept their Great Chief's Pilgrim Treaty
While the good man was alive.

Made in faith with Governor Carter,
Sixteen hundred twenty-one,
Kept for forty years, sincerely,
Till his death in sixty-one!

Massachusetts Seal and State Flag
Show the Chief in deerskin brown,
Proudly holding firm his strong-bow,
And one arrow, pointing down.

"Coat of Arms" of Massachusetts,
With our State Star just above,
Tribute to a noble Indian,
Loyal history that we love!

Gentle hillsides and green valleys,
Make our lives so pleasant here,
While the ever-changing seasons
Bring glad contrasts through the year.

Autumn foliage is so brilliant
It is known throughout the world!
Crimson, gold, and blazing orange
In exultant praise unfurled.

But by Christmas time in winter,
There's a wonderland of snow!
Everywhere, a lovely picture
Anywhere that we might go.

And the vigor of the climate
With the challenges we meet,
Make our lives in Massachusetts,
A delightful bitter-sweet!

Massachusetts! Massachusetts!
What a splendid history!
Like our great and glorious Nation,
In its strength for Liberty!

Massachusetts! Massachusetts!
Keep the faith true pride instills!
May our trust in you be steadfast,
As the everlasting hills!

NEW MEXICO STATE POEM ..

Title:"A Nuevo Mexico"
Author:Luis Tafoya

Legislation Recognizing Official Status:
Adopted 1921; codified in New Mexico Statutes, 12-3-11.

Poem Text:
From Statutes, 12-3-11; includes original Spanish text and English translation.

A Nuevo Mexico

Levanta, Nuevo Mexico, esa abatida frente
que anubla los encantos de tu serena faz,
y alborozado acoje corona refulgente,
simbolo de gloria y de ventura y paz.
Despues de tantos anos de lucha y de porfia,
tu suerte se ha cambiado y ganas la victoria,
llegando a ver por fin el venturoso dia
que es colmo de tu dicha y fuente de tu gloria.
Has sido un gran imperio, colmado de riqueza,
y grandes contratiempos tuviste que sufrir,
mas ahora triunfo pleno alcanza tu entereza,
y el premio a tu constancia pudiste conseguir.
Tu pueblo por tres siglos aislado y solitario,
de nadie tuvo ayuda, de nadie proteccion,
lucho por su existencia osado y temerario,
sellando con su sangre dominio y posesion.
Tras tan heroico esfuerzo por fin has merecido
el bien que procurabas con insistencia tanta
de que en la Union de Estados fueses admitido
con la soberania que al hombre libre encanta.
Obstaculos y estorbos del todo desaparecen,
y entrada libre tienes a la gloriosa Union,
en donde los ciudadanos prosperan y florecen,
con tantas garantias y tanta proteccion.
Por tan pasmosa dicha el parabien te damos,
a ti como a tus hijos, de honor tan senalado,
y que en tu nueva esfera de veras esperamos
que a fuer de gran imperio seras un gran estado.

To New Mexico

Lift, New Mexico, your tired forehead
That clouds the enchantment of your peaceful face,
And joyfully receive the bright crown,
Symbol of glory, venture, and peace.
After so many years of fight and persistence
Your luck has changed and you gain victory,
Reaching up to see your fortunate day at last
That is an overflow of happiness and the fountain of your glory.
You have been a great empire filled with riches,
And many mishaps you had to suffer,
But now complete triumph reach up to your integrity,
And reward for your constancy, you were able to achieve.
Your people for three centuries, isolated and lonely,
With help or protection from nobody,
They fought for their existence, reckless and daring
Sealing with their blood their dominion and possession.
After such heroic effort finally you deserve
The goodness with such an insistence you procure,
To be admitted in the state of the union
With the sovereignty that is a free man's enchantment.
Obstacles and hindrance for good they disappear,
And free admittance you have to the glorious union,
Where the people prosper and flourish
With so many guarantees and great protection.
For that marvelous satisfaction we welcome you,
You and your children such a deserved honor,
And in your new sphere we truly hope
That by dint of imperiousness a great state you will become.

OKLAHOMA STATE POEM...
Dedication, Will Rogers Field, Oklahoma City, June 28, 1941 

Title:"Howdy Folks"
Author:David Randolph Milsten
Legislation Recognizing Official Status:
Recognized as state poem in 1941 by House Concurrent Resolution No. 7 (18th Legislature).

"Howdy Folks"
Well, here goes some scribblin' that's a little past due,
But I reckon I'm always a-thinkin' 'bout you.
I've been readin' the papers in my own little way,
And I see where you messed up my last birthday.
Through divine television I caught the dedication
And heard some tributes by a mighty swell nation.
Now that's a powerful nice shack you built on the hill;
But that's just like the Sooners, it gives them a thrill.
I never did nuthin' to cause all that fuss;
And sometimes, folks, I could almost cuss.
But, dern you, I love you, I guess it's my pride
That chokes me all up and hurts me inside.
I heard Jesse, Irvin, Cohan and Fred
And Amon and Eddie, what nice things they said.
I always called Claremore a big little town,
With guys like Mort Harrison and others around.
I see where Joe Crosson winged there for a day;
Remember him, Wiley? We slept all the way.
But I'll tell you the part which touched me the most,
And it ain't like me to speak up and boast.
It was when dear Mary pulled the curtain string
For my act in bronze -- what a homely thing!
But I guess it was sentiment that filled the place,
'Cause my kids kind of cried and I saw Betty's face.
God bless my old partner, she held up her head;
and though none of you heard me, she knew what I said.
And I spied Sister Sally with a shy little glance;
She's all the West means, charm and romance.
Old Jo had a job a-chisslin' my mug;
Why, I got more wrinkles than a Navajo rug.
So you're honorin' Oklahoma with a replica of me --
Move over Sequoyah, for another Cherokee.
Well, much obliged friends, for the money you spent,
And the words that were spoken by our President.
I wish you had erected a memorial to peace;
We'd be happy up here if war talk would cease.
But I ain't ungrateful, I just can't see
Such a hullabaloo 'bout a cowboy like me.
Well, so long folks, it's time to retire;
I got to keep a date with Odd McIntyre.

TENNESSEE STATE POEM ..Read it here...
Title: "Oh Tennessee, My Tennessee”
Author:
Naval Adm. William Porter Lawrence

Legislation Recognizing Official Status:
Adopted as state poem in 1973 by the 88th General Assembly (Acts 1973, ch. 111, § 1; 1977, ch. 329, § 1; Tennesse Code, § 4-1-303).

Poem Text:
From the Tennessee Code Annotated.

Oh Tennessee, My Tennessee

Oh Tennessee, My Tennessee
What Love and Pride I Feel for Thee.
You Proud Ole State, the Volunteer,
Your Proud Traditions I Hold Dear.

I Revere Your Heroes
Who Bravely Fought our Country's Foes.
Renowned Statesmen, so Wise and Strong,
Who Served our Country Well and Long.

I Thrill at Thought of Mountains Grand;
Rolling Green Hills and Fertile Farm Land;
Earth Rich with Stone, Mineral and Ore;
Forests Dense and Wild Flowers Galore;

Powerful Rivers that Bring us Light;
Deep Lakes with Fish and Fowl in Flight;
Thriving Cities and Industries;
Fine Schools and Universities;
Strong Folks of Pioneer Descent,
Simple, Honest, and Reverent.

Beauty and Hospitality
Are the Hallmarks of Tennessee.

And O'er the World as I May Roam,
No Place Exceeds my Boyhood Home.
And Oh How Much I Long to See
My Native Land, My Tennessee.