“Barges”
The barges move slowly but surely,
carrying coal from places with names
like Cabin Creek and Chelyan
down the Kanawha to the Ohio
and all those points beyond.
The coal they carry and
the water on which they ride
is mixed with blood.
February is new and already
sixteen miners have paid with their lives
so the nation can see
to read these words.
Coal’s what we do around here.
It’s dirty work and
folks in other parts look down on us
for doing it,
but let them imagine their lives
if we didn’t.
The barges work much like
that West Virginia coal miner,
quietly, stoically,
dirty and hauling the coal,
no need of thanks.
But it’s easy for the barges,
with no reason to fear death
and no need to worry
about making enough
to pay the bills.
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