I took a trip back to my past
One sunny day last fall
I guess I'd hoped things were the same
And hadn't changed at all

Driving down that country road
Recalling memories I couldn't forget
Amazed at how things looked so strange
Much to my heart's regret

Trees and brush now covered the place
Where our childhood home once stood
I could almost hear the laughter again
We were young and life was good

Surprised to see the bright orange fruit
On that old persimmon tree
That we ate with gusto long ago
Each fall between frost and freeze

The creek where we used to splash and play
When the water ran free and clean
Had almost disappeared with time
And was now just a little stream

Granny Fletcher's house was long since gone
Most coal mines were all played out
Abandoned equipment had turned to rust
No children were playing about

Several houses I didn't recognize
Probably built long after we'd left
Were now in states of disrepair
Their occupants forlorn and bereft

I'd heard that Johnson Bottom was lost
In the seventy-seven flood
Parks and playgrounds filled the spots
Where coal camp houses stood

Crossing the bridge into Delorme
I looked down at old Tug River
Now flowing with sewage and coal sludge
Much darker and muddier than ever

On the road to Matewan, I realized
I couldn't return to being a child
'Cause life cannot be lived again
But I could dream for a little while

Kathleen McCoy EldridgeŠ
October 4, 2006
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