beloved america, why so afraid?
you ask me
aren’t you afraid of going back
HOME?
how can a place I haven’t lived in
for four decades
be
my home?
if you insist that beautiful far away land is my home
why would I possibly be afraid
of home?
i’m puzzled my beloved america.
why
do you speak so much of
fear?
travel is about adventure
meeting strangers who welcome you to their homes
showing you their land
with pride
have you traveled your land?
have you been to appalachia?
those beautiful mountains
is it home to you?
or
are you afraid of
the ‘hill people’ too?
i am certain
THEY are my people.
we both love the mountains
we both love that sacred water traveling so patiently
sometimes so violently
down the mountainside
we love our families
so,
there you go
hill people, my people!
are they your people?
or are you afraid of them too?
let’s be honest with ourselves
who wanted us to be afraid of each other?
fear me not
fear not ‘the hill people’
fear those who told you to be afraid of us
who labeled us
terrorist
red neck
alien
hillbilly
