IF YOU COULD TRAP A SOUND

If you could trap a sound,
in the heart of Mother Earth
from the cool, depths underground

What would that sound be?
A laugh, a whisper, a spoken last word
a gasp, a supplication, a plea

If you could trap a vision by the eye, seen
would you espy the grasp of comfort
from one man to the other,
brothers in their faith . . . freed

If you could dispel the darkness, with a flame
Or feel inspiration ignited, by a prayer
You would have seen the angels that came
and moved amongst the men down there

Men of the Heartland
Miners of our Earth
Beckoned to His Homeland
Men of family--Men of worth!

Extolled in the human heart
is our connection with the Creator
like a star in the firmament, bright

And to the Heavens above we lift
our eyes through the darkness
until we connect with the Light

Copyright 2006 Kathy Pippig Harris

For the coal miners who perished in the Aracoma Alma Mine
and the Sago Mine of West Virginia.

And for my grandfather who was a coal miner in Illinois.