Hills

Hills in my Voice 

 

Half-hidden hills in summer haze
Call my name and question me. . .

“Where have you been?”
“Why have you stayed away so long?”

Those hills are strangers to me.
I am not from there but rather here.
They seem to know me much better than I know them
I’ve only ridden over Big Hill a few times in a car.
Why, then, do they call my name?

Why is the sight of those green trees reaching
Toward the sky as familiar as the fingers
On my own hand? – Reaching.
For what I can’t name.

“Mountain folk are queer,” Mamaw always said,
But I couldn’t say for sure. They live
Tucked back in deep hollows,
Silent reflections of the hills around them.
They are as much a part of that place
As limestone and black oak.
I do not know them but I understand them.
My spirit hears the same whisper as theirs,
On the breath of a breeze, it beckons me home.

Some say God is in the trees.
Someday--
if I’m not here where I ought to be . . .

You might find me in the mountains.

 

 

Author's Note

Without the guidance of two very special writers at the cafe this poem would have never come to be. My sincere thanks to Mike and Tamara who both offered suggestions and helped me along with this one.

Reviews

[Fabian G. Franklin]

I'm just a hillbilly myself like Thomas Wolfe. He said, "You can't go home again." But I'm bewildered as to why anyone would want to leave. I carry my Appalachians in my heart. I carried them through the Ozarks in Arkansas and across the Rockies in Colorado. The oldest mountains in the world are more than just hills and valleys to me. They're in my blood and deep in my bones. And I wouldn't have it any other way. So, while Wolfe may have been removed from the commonality of his upbringing; the more I have been removed, the more I cling to home. Ricky Skaggs wrote a song called, Don't Get Above Your Raisin' where he tells a girl not to "high hat" him because he remembers what she used to be. That relates directly to what Wolfe said about not being able to go home again. Sure you can go home again. But don't go home and try to flaunt your education at the people you were brought up with. It's not being dishonest to grow beyond the hills and still maintain connection with your roots. I talk to mountain folks like mountain folks talk. It's not "fake" because I'm from there. But I can communicate on other levels with various people from various walks of life without intimidating them or feeling intimidated by them. That is what Rudyard Kipling meant in his poem, "If" when he wrote,
"If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;"

According to Kipling's observation that's what makes a "man" but I'd prefer to think of it as what makes us well rounded individuals capable of communicating our thoughts at various levels. That's certainly as important as being able to speak a foreign language; especially if it is the language of "home". I'm sorry if my review seems rather personal but the piece evoked thoughts and feelings in me that were very personal. I hope I can maintain the flavor of the mountains, always, in my voice.

[Emily B]

My husband feels more at home in those flat lands.

[The Rock And Roll Cowbo..]

There are just someplace where feel most at home, and nature is a great place to feel that way. A manificent poem

[Emily B]

Thank you, Dale :) haven't written much lately

[SkinlessFrank]

I hear Iris Dement's voice in those words

[Emily B]

I think I should look her up then. Thank you.

[Creepy Swine Guy]

I am back again to read this, one of my favorite poems of all time. Not just here in the Cafe ... but one of my favorites of ALL poems.

[Emily B]

That is wonderful to hear. I sometimes wonder where I would have ended up without words like these

[Jen]

.

[prashant harsh]

beautiful

[Ken Simm.]

Where you will always find me. both in the mountains and at your work. This is a painting of a poem.

[TL Boehm]

Beautiful. Just beautiful GH shared this on FB and I am so glad I snuck over to see it.

[Emily B]

golden oldie, mike lawsom and others helped me write this one

[Creepy Swine Guy]

It's one of my favorites ... I mean of ALL poems.

[Emily B]

that means a lot Jerry . . . it may be my first big success, my voice is so much in the lines

[Fabian G. Franklin]

Wow, Mike Lawson. I haven't heard that name in awhile. I miss Mike.

[...]

. it's overwhelming to read these words again ...
. and, find a home in them ... again ...

[Robin]

Thats where you would find me ...