Black Water

I thank you for your comment and there is no need to apologize for rambling here... it is appreciated. This poem/prose, I struggled with... trying to get it all down in some coherent but poem-like state, not sure if I accomplished that. West Virgina is (to me) the most beautiful state on the East coast, I've been to all of them, but the coal industry has decimated several areas with mountain top mining, there has been many debates on where and how the waste should be dumped, the army corp of engineers is supposed to be in charge of clean water, but the people in the areas of the mining are forced to buy water, as the water from their wells is black. The debate is all about the money for the industry, mountain top mining is a very productive way of gathering coal, no need for miners, just guys to drive machinery to dig, and set charges... it goes on and on. The coal industry has always been notorious for mistreating its workers, but I suspect the few that they need now are paid well, and those guys are only doing a job... our government allows the removal of mountain tops, there are regulations, they are supposed to reclaim the land, plant trees and grasses and in some cases you can see it has been done, but the waters are contaminated for a long time, and they ultimately run in many places on the east coast... oh, I could go on but I won't. thanks Jayne

thank you for the read... how are you doing? I hope you and your family have a great holiday time. The coal industry today is much different than back when it actually employed the community, now the people watch as millions of dollars worth of coal rides past their homes with little opportunity of working, the industry just doesn't need very many now... they went from employing approximately 15,000, to 800 today... that to me is a giant difference in opportunity for employment. It is the locals that are suffering the high cost of contaminating natural resources, and they don't even get a job...

I appreciate your look into this poem, I felt I left much out but chose to submit because to me it is an important issue, of course it isn't new to the people affected by it, but it may be a new concept to some. thanks again! Richard

thank you for the read sweet one...

I think I like that maneuver, thanks for reading Dale.

thank you, and you are right too, I feel it is the job of poets, and always has been, to point and tell... thanks for reading

It is a very hot subject in coal mining towns in West Virginia, and has been for the last 10yrs or more... it isn't something that catches a lot of media attention, but it's out there because the people have petitioned the industry and the government about it over and over. In the original case, it was decided the coal co. had crossed regulations and mining was stopped, but since then it was turned over by the state supreme court and regulations have been altered, allowing the industry to dump closer to natural streams which feed the existing wells and waterways of the surrounding communities. It is such an important issue for our Country, I had to write about it. The people there were employed by the coal industry for the last 150yrs or so, but now... they are unneeded with the development of the "new and improved" ways of gathering the coal. This is something that in my mind should not be allowed to continue, it is wrong for the environment, detrimental for the community, and greedy, just damn greedy! thanks for reading, I bet it's hard to handle that rig in those mountains.