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I wrote this poem while reflecting on my second Appalachia Service Project experience.

Appalachian - American

Families livelihood rolled away from mountain homes

Realistic hopes trickled downstream long ago

Company housing and trailers, reminders of the legacy

Hard ship reflected by the face of his stories

Historic coal dust choking progress

Wrinkles of death, growing darker each day

Natural beauty nourishes iron roots

Money crawls, checks flow, and pride dams your holler

Invincible corporate kudzu, grasping the mountain

Absentees controlling your land with a dense, political fog

Tremendous efforts by many, nibble at years of industrial might

As we Roll by, blasted tiers stand monument to progress of years past

Screeching brakes a constant reminder of the region's problems

--Fletcher Boland - 2001