The Story of the Louisiana Iris
Long ago in the beginning,
When the cypress swamps were infants,
Grew the iris, blue as heaven,
And the russet, of the autumn...
Now, they did not grow together,
Lake and forest lay between them.
Just as the Acadian lovers,
Much, much later; sought each other.
Traveled prairie, swamp and bayou,
So the Louisiana Iris, through the
years that became ages,
Crossing lake and swamp and bayou...
Traveled always towards each other,
"Til at last they came together.
Came and merged and grew together
Met at last in Iris beaven.
From their mating came the purples,
reds, the whites and clearest yellows,
Tints and hues of earth and heaven
All the colors of the rainbow
grow today in Louisiana.
In the lovely cypress forests
In the swamps and down the bayous
In the parks, and in the gardens
In the land of moss and myrtle
In the land of the Acadians.
Grow the flowers of the rainbow
Grow the Louisiana Iris.