I Can’t Help But Wonder, What if . . .

When I was a child things were much different. 
I’m talking about seventy years ago,
When I lived on a dusty country road
In a special region of the world called Appalachia. 
I once heard an Appalachian writer say,
“If ye call it App-uh-lay-shuh, then ye ain’t from here.”
It was such a safe place to live back then. 
My neighbors were compassionate and friendly. 
Down the road from me lived a man and woman
Who had ten children, and all were good. 
They raised bumper crops and always had plenty. 
Once the fog lifted from the Appalachian valleys,
The family took to the hillsides to work. 
Sometimes their laboring stopped, and the father prayed. 
His voice echoed off the broad Appalachian hills
As he earnestly prayed for ~
     His family’s good health and their salvation
     The same for all his neighbors and their families
     The community to live in harmony with one another, and 
     The necessities of life for all. 
And once the man was finished praying,
He always ended with a thunderous ~ Amen!
Today, I gaze through the heavy mist
Of these ancient Appalachian Mountains,
Think about how my neighbor talked with God,
And I can’t help but wonder, what if . . .

©️Copyright 2022 By David Lee Thompson