Deep in the hollers of Appalachia
So many unwritten laws and rules
Often perceived to hate Northerners
Outsiders can’t grasp the real truth
Coal then greed created the rift
Mineral rights bought for pennies on the dollar
Mining black coal for the outsider’s fortunes
Themselves scraping by in the holler
Appalachian folk don’t dislike Northerners
Contempt for being tricked out of what was fair
They killed themselves in those deep mines
Just to create more millionaires
The con men who stole their living are all dead and gone
Hill folk don’t begrudge an honest man his wealth
But despise an outsider who tricked their ancestors
Stealing fortunes and wasting miner’s health
JBentley
5-18-22
#Poetry