Best Appalachian Poems

I have a passion to hold a lamp aloft,
to capture one acre of starshine
before the sun writes a new dawn.

Rusting Chevys bloom in the half-light.
Nightjars depart on shadow wings.
Shimmering’s walk toward my window
on silver slippers.

A native mildness calls me out
to the green hollows
where poppies cling...

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Appalachian Sister 

Wherever I roam, 
You go too.
A piece of home,
Follows.

A smile, a song,
The sound of an owl.
Those Appalachian mountains,
Live inside of me.

Your laughter,
The white water creeks.
Your voice,
The whispering winds.

Intertwined,
In my memories.
I think of one,
I think of the other.

Sisters,
And mountains.
Part of me,
We are never apart.

By:...

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We welcome Spring with blooms
From bright red and yellow tulips
It feels like the season of flumes
With the scent of fresh hyssops

Summer skies roll on around
With gently floating white clouds 
Fresh mown lawns cover the ground
Leaving crisp, emerald shrouds

When Autumn happens through
With orange, red and amber...

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Deserted cabins
Trees gnarled by wailing winds
The sound of a bear...

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ever-taxing trail
a sense of isolation
ambitious hikers...

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We dragged the slopes to our feet.
On the summit, we burnt our clothes
for wood and there shuffled our feet
in the hush of the falling snow.
 
We had come out of the scuffed grass.
 
With one look back in unbelief
exhuming the long trek
   ...

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The Appalachian Trail is quite a long path.
Not many can go the whole way.
For those not content to do the math
It’s five million strides, so they say.

Most hikers elect to go part of the way.
A distance which can be done rather fast.
They usually walk less...

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long after midnight

he points out the big dipper...

grass for our pillows






___________________________________________
for Charles Henderson's Contest: "No Contest Contest"
/resubmitted for PD's Contest "Any haiku will do"...

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Meanwhile, our troop moved on down the trail.
One more bear episode needs be told.
We arrived at the next stop with out fail.
It was late evening and beginning to get cold.

Two of us went to the horse spring for a bath
And use the same one to...

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Sawing logs, one after another
Into two feet lengths
Just for the specific purpose
Of standing them up on the ground
Awaiting the iron axe
That will create a comforting
Roaring fire in the hearth
Come this winter’s cold

Canning fruits and vegetables
To store on the shelves
Awaiting the moment in time
When they’ll be...

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Emerald pines and jade laurels
Crisp, cool air misting beyond the range
Of peaks that ascend to meet
The clear, indigo heavens complete
With bleached snowy puffs of cotton
Drifting into silhouettes, characters
Both soft and yearning – floating
Into the horizon where they play
Dancing through the impression
Of a peaceful, tender moment
God’s...

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Mornings, light and smiling
Coffee brewing, black
Meat frying in a cast iron skillet
Grease, flour and milk, stirred together
Gravy poured over steaming biscuits
Granny’s breakfast – typically
Grown to life from a wood cookstove

Noon, gentle sunshine
Picking cornfield beans, breaking
The beans and then washing them
Placing them into a vessel, a...

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Every morning at close to four
She made the coffee, percolated
Poured it into cups with saucers
And they each would have a cup
Pouring the potent black liquid
Into the saucers before drinking
The cooling solution from them

This was only one more glimpse
Into the heart of Appalachian living
A day by...

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Long ago, formed by His hand
Courageous and bold
Like the oak and the elm
Whispering truths 
Silencing every doubt
They call to the spirit
With tenderness, inspiring
A fire that brings passion
Alive, wild and warm,
Soothing the spirit and 
Coloring the will in brilliant hues
Of God breathed guidance

Old as time, they...

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They’ve always been there, unaware
When I felt lonely, lost, longing
For the presence of the light’s caress,
Softly unfolding beyond the azure
Skies, whispering joy over my soul, into
Shimmering that twinkles, above
In the skies and below, in my eyes

They’ve always known me, as a child
Silent and the only...

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