Mountain Folk

the appalachian outback,

the anarchistic culture,

fiercely independent until

the straw, the final one,

broke it all,

 

the country of coal became

the country of blood,

and when the federalists

responded, they responded

with the unequal and

opposite force,

 

they reacted at matewan,

they reacted at paint creek,

they reacted at blair mountain,

and the reaction gave birth to

tennessee ernie ford,

 

all sixteen tons of him,

 

the indian subcontinent

has the untouchables,

and the southeastern

united states

has the mountain folk,

 

proud, strong, intense

mountain folk,

 

they love their god,

they love their guns,

they love their religion,

they love their radio,

 

they hunt, they grow,

they mine, they shine,

 

they are the model of the

American do-it-yourselfer

before do-it-yourself was

ever the in-thing,

 

and that attitude,

that particular ethic

can be seen in

disparate populations

with disparate more and norms,

 

from the followers of Joseph Smith

and Brigham Young to the ones

who rioted against the police

at Stonewall,

 

from the ones who stood at

Wounded Knee eight decades

after the Ghost Dance massacre

to the ones who scream nine-twelve

on the capital steps,

 

they were the first wave

of Americana that

inspired future waves,

 

so much for the redneck

being the butt of all jokes

Reviews

[Kaylor Mason]

Very true . . . deep in our roots, underneath all the falsehoods of civilization and the veneer of "high society," we all have redneck down-to-earthness within us that makes life sane and worth living. Screw political correctness! Screw what the weirdo liberals teach us in the cities! All they teach is how to be weak, immoral and self-hating, ignoring the truth and putting all their stock in empty lies to rot society from within with their bulls---!! Learn to embrace your inner redneck! I definitely have, and I'm incredibly proud of it! I'm white, a gun lover, saved through Christ, I love fourwheelers, hunting, fishing, shooting pistols out in the back yard, and I come from a farming family where things like honest hard work and truth and honor are valued, and everyone knows the difference between right and wrong because Jesus teaches us how to live in His word, and we know how to live and how to die and how to get along with our neighbors and respect our elders and how disrespecting others can get you a broken jaw--so you learn quick the value of politeness.
The lies and false teachings of the "civilized" cities hold no sway with me--as far as I'm concerned, there is right, there is wrong, and people like Dr. Phil or other liberal "wise counselors" are nothing but narcissitic, self-deluded idiots in the pay of the highest liberal bidder, and they're full of s---. With as many people that watch garbage like that on TV and believe it, it's no wonder America is rotting from within! If you don't believe me, just listen to the "wisdom" of Dr. Phil, and you'll see what's wrong with this great nation!
Amen
Beautiful poem.
Praise God and pass the ammunition! :)

[Kenneth The Poet]

I thank you for your raucous, excellent review. I will say this for liberalism: without PBS, I wouldn't have been inspired to write this piece. It was a documentary series on Appalachian history that brought these words to mind.