Southern Hospitality

Mississippi is

the hospitality state

where folks are warm

as Spring’s genial sun

that graces cloudless skies,

open and full of blue;

where there is always time

to sit and talk  a while

over cups of coffee

poured from a never-empty pot;

where one more is always welcome

at tables laded with Southern fare–

black-eyed peas, turnip greens, and butterbeans,

tomatoes, sweet potatoes, and corn,

ham, fried chicken, and barbecue,

pecan pie and peach cobbler,

washed down with gallons of sweet iced tea;

where neighbors gather in times of trouble

bringing food, friendship, and strong shoulders,

offering sympathy and lending helping hands;

where magnolias and mockingbirds,

with their lemony musk and bright chatter,

invite visitors to enjoy

the warm welcome waiting here.