Song for Some Miners
Morning was starless
Dark on the way to the mountain
The only light was from the headlights of my truck
The night sounds fade
I dress for work
Coveralls, gloves in our deep pockets, hard hats, lights,
Some safety gear
Why are there GPS chips in cell phones
But no locater on our helmets
I greet my brothers in darkness
I've lost an uncle and a brother
The mountain has claimed it's own
Its yawning mouth meets us with indifference
We ride L-shaped in low vehicles in and down
Steel and mesh surround us
Thousands of feet below the sunshine
Nothing grows down here but tunnels
As our machines chew their way through the rock to make
Walls
Not much light reflects off of the compressed remains
Of dinosaurs
Will we someday be fuel for another
Black chunks bringing light for the world
Heating up giant turbines
The constant din of
Metal munching machines grind through the
Eternal darkness
The lights on our helmets guide our way
Until we can return to the surface
We're no longer the stooped trolls of underworld
We stand up straight
And ride back out at the end of the shift
Into air, and light, and earth sounds
Until I can see the light shine in my wife's eyes
In the evening