Poetry

Why any mountain? Appalachian mountains, destroyed by mountaintop removal streams buried under rubble of valley fills… … who are we, humankind to remodel the flesh of this earth – - cutthroat surgeons sinfully rich reshaping mounds and curves… Tainting soil and groundwater toxic metals selenium sulphate magnesium degrading water quality of streams and rivers left over pollutants disposed of ‘slurry injections’ into the earth poisoning groundwater animals plants people… Coal mining on Walden’s ridge mercury spewing into the atmosphere smell the coal burning concentrating, millions of times higher than in untainted water once released, irretrievable mercury compounds never disappear…. .. not so our mountains; ...