The Only Good Top

The Only Good Top Mom didn't want me to dig coal Deep under the ground where there's no day So I headed North, like my people before me Factory work was a good living I couldn't get used to a place Where dew never falls to cool the earth And the summer mornings Are just as hot as midday Back home, working in the mines I assured myself and Mom "We ain't in water, Mom And the top is good and high." "The only good top is the sky, " Mom said "where the sun beams down to warm you And the clouds roll slow and easy The moon don't need carbide to light you a path." Here underneath the earth, I just have to believe That Mom's prayers are stronger Than the timbers and roof bolts that groan Underneath this dark sandstone sky. —Jenny Galloway Browning ...