Black Water

Black Water

Black water rain on the mountain top

Runs to the valley below,

All my friends moved away from here

Some fifteen years ago.

And the fog that hangs in the valley

Reminds me of why they left,

No future here outside of coal

Even that work's hard to get.

That musty smell I know so well

Lingers in the air year 'round,

Where local bars and racing cars

Are the only games in town.

And nothing for sale here sells at all

The homes rot from within,

While every kid gets a car at sixteen

Hides the poverty of one's kin.

Once these towns were a millionaire's dream

Now a minor's nightmare it's true.

The sediment from the mine is thick

And sticks to you like glue.

Most grew roots in distant lands

Made doctors of themselves,

Lawyers, cops and businessmen -

They say they're from somewhere else.

But some like me, we're fated to stay

And try to carry on -

It's all I know so I chose to sew

My seeds in this one-horse town.

~Darkling Plain, Sept. 12, 2006