As I Walk for the Mountains
by Larry Gibson, July 14 1999
As I walk for the mountains
it brings to mind
the love that I have for the West Virginia Hills. If
the state of West Virginia was a woman
she would be the most beautiful lady.
As I walk along the way it seems
like I can hear her breathing.
Up north I see the beauty of the lady.
Down south, I see the scars
and the ugly that mankind has done to her.
Don't they know
that they are destroying her?
Or do they even care?
Oh my Lord, help me find the way
to stop them from destroying my Mother
for she gave me life. Now
I have to find a way to give her back life.
Like a lot of women
our state has been abused. It's up to us,
her offspring,
to defend her.
Someone asked me:
why fight for all the mountains?
My reply: It's like going to an orphanage
to adopt a child
and seeing little children
--which one do you adopt and which one
do you allow to be destroyed?
For me the answer
is to save them all
--or at least as many as you can.
As offspring of this great lady
How can we do any less?