Appalachian Christmas

When the wind hurls howls
which sound like enraged wolves
soft clumps of snow
fall silently
over the edge of winter's world
where they disintegrate
to sparkling bits of sunshine
raining yellow snow flakes
down from heaven's sky

When cracking crashing ice
fall from dried out trees
and cold clings to your body
like a thousand pointed needles
stabbing your bones
your muscles twinge
like grief pains the heart


When your vision sharpens
through freezing frosted breath
and the sun-blazed day of amber
is as clear as crystal ice
you can lean out over the mountain's edge
and frozen streams below will appear
another appalachian christmas is here


A black limousine crawls carefully
down the twisting mountain roads
looking as out of place
as a silver spoon stirring coffee
in a plastic mug


Driving through miles
of a beauteous lush of
wilderness
speckled with indigent wooden shacks
bits and pieces of human dreams

Smoking chimneys red brick pipes
jut upward into the sky
like fingers making obscene gestures

Labor that can not read or write comes cheap
dependent completely on swelling
or shrinking profit margins
one cannot help his preoccupaion
pondering about next to go
like picks that pound on coal
they strike home the current fear
another appalachian christmas is here

the blazing fireplaces
bring each mountain home to life
the passed down stories laughter and songs
are the only Christmas presents found here
no one wears a store-bought suit
the clothes are home made hand-me-downs
but banjos fiddles guitars and such
slip into ready eager hands
and faith-filled voices invade
the shadowy owl's terrain

crisp and clear the joyous refrains
ride on the mountain winds
they overtake the limousine
and its driver
who will spend the day
alone in his factory tallying his profits
another Appalachian Christmas is here