Rest On

If you go back home
To the hollers you wandered in
Up on the hillsides
Close to the homestead
Look deep in the brambles
See stones a standin'
Reminders of those
Who have gone before.
Some unkempt an' overgrown
Some tended neat
Yet all silent testaments
Of lost love, life and home.
Sandstone worn with
Nary a word
Visible to the eye.
Underneath lies pilgrim bones
Waiting for that trump.
Marble some, milky smooth
Letters crisp and clear.
Yet all harmonize,
Sing the same song,
Reminding all who see;
This here's a good spot,
I'll just take me a rest
Till time to go on home.
As pilgrims sleep
They rest In peace
Knowing they slumber on
Beneath the poplar and sycamore
Safe on the hills
Of home.

Spring Song

Sing me a Song of Spring
Of Daffy-dills peekin'
Over on the roadside.
Pussywillow sneakin' out
Her catkins.

Hum me a little bitty tune
Of warmer days an'
Sweet blue skies,
Trees a bloomin'
An' waters warmin.
A song of life an' joy
An' promise...
A song of life renewed
Of the everlast of the hills.

A song that will resound in the rocks,
Be whistled by the sparrow
Hummed by the bees an' wasps an' mud duabers
As they mud their cradles
In the logs of my home.

Melancholy

This color of melancholy
Does not suit me well.
It is faded and harsh
Does not flatter me.

At first I thought it had
A touch of bittersweet.
Looking close there seemed
A hint of what had been.

Instead it is grey
Dulled flat by pain.
Washed out and faded
Bitter with memories.

Wash me and cleanse
Lord of the rains.
Flood the hidden hollers
Cleanse and set me
Free.

Hurts of the Heart

Have you ever had your heart just ache
Bustin' like it was ready to quit?
Hurtin' like some wild thing stuck
Deep inside your chest?

Ever felt like you had failed
Had done nothin' right, nothin' good?
Have you sunk down deep into a holler
Filled with bitter darkness?

Wail at the dark,
Cry and ask God to make it better
Scream to the tops of the hills
For answers that you can't find.

Hold your head close
Cradle it an' cry.
Don't be 'fraid.

There is a new day,
A new day.

Collect Call

They call to me,
They woo me,
Sing like sirens
A song that draws.
Tug at my blood
Boil it hot
Sing in my ear
Whisper as I sleep.
Mountains they call
Hollers they whisper
Heat of the day
Cool of the evenin'
Callin' me home.

Appalachia callin'
Will you take the call?
Where you been, son?
Why ain't you come?
Where you been, now
Ever so long?

Wayfarin' stranger
Wanderin' in northlands
Hankerin' for home
Hankerin' for home.