It is easy to bend with the wind and be weak,
     Wrapped in silence when it would take courage to speak,
     To do nothing when crises demand that you act;
     To prefer a delusion to unpleasant fact.
     But the easy evasions that dreamers embrace
     Are denied to a leader with problems to face.
     He must cope with the world as he finds it, and plan
     To make each hard decision as well as he can.
     He can't hide from the truth or deny what is real.
     Though a lie might assuage all the fears people feel.
     For the truth is the truth, and no lie can prevail.
     In a world that is real, one must face truth or fail.

America
We the people
Justice, the word most sought by all, seek God to bless the courts with truth, for through His wisdom
we rise or fall.

America
We the people
Do honor this great lady fair, who with her mighty arms still holds, the scales of Justice for all to share.

America
We the people
Do offer threads of hope to all, for Justice covers everyone; she does not measure, short or tall.

America
We the people
Boldly make this pledge to thee, that Justice will, in mind and heart, guide each destiny.

America
We............the...........people."

I am Louisiana

by Paul Ott
(State cultural poem adopted 2006)

I'm Spanish moss on a live oak tree
Cajun fried shrimp and a cypress knee.
I'm Bienville, Captain Shreve, Beauregard, Zack Taylor and Jean Lafitte.
I'm New Orleans, the land of dreams Creole cookin' and a Mardi Gras king.
I'm a thoroughbred racin' at Louisiana Downs,
Avery Island and a Catahoula hound.
I'm the Louisiana Hayride and the birth of the blues,
The Evangeline, Chickory Coffee and Baton Rouge.
I'm when the Saints Go Marchin' In the Superdome,
The Atchafalaya and an old plantation home.
I'm jambalaya, a catfish fry and a filet gumbo,
A sugar cane patch, Pete Fountain, French Quarter and Satchmo.
Well, I'm the Mississippi River as it rounds the bend.
I am Louisiana. Ya'll Come Back Again.

Source:

List of Louisiana state symbols: Wikipedia

Links:

All State Cultural Symbols