A coal miner’s soul plunges down
Deep dark into blackness
His heart and life remain up top.
With coal dusted lungs
He surfaces again
To be with his family, friends and heart.
Without him and his courage
What happens?
Cold darkness for us too?
What percentage of life depends on
His decent down damp, dark there?
One third you say
Oh happy day
Or perhaps
Or perhaps two thirds of us perish
If he doesn’t come out
Of that God forsaken black hole.
Don’t like those odds,
There in Hazard!
Some say the hazardous entrance to hell
Is in Hazard!
Betting on wind and solar and green?
May be a hazard unseen
Think again!
Trees live on carbon
Trees give off oxygen
We need O2 to live
Do the math.
Raw coal black energy!
9/2/2023
tom tenbrunsel
Carl Sandburg Writer 2023
Author’s Note: You might want to check out Malvena Reynold’s description about the coal miners’ plight in her song “Mrs. Clara Sullivan’s Letter,” sung by Pete Seeger https://youtu.be/KD2_dkRbyho?si=Ze5ZWWoRR8MMSlBJ
*Photo of coal miners 1908
Lewis Wicks Hines (1874 - 1940) public domain
God bless the coal miners🙏
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