Michael Ramsburg
Appalachian. West-by-God Virginian. I spell hollow: h-o-l-l-e-r. Come sit a spell — I’ll tell you a story or two.
I Reckon The Book Red Kin Folk Are Worshin’ Over Yonder
Appalachian dialect defined in cinquains
reckon —
when you’re saying
that you really don’t know
but then again maybe it’s true
you guess
book red —
educated
at the far away school
trying to escape these here hills
with smarts
kin folk —
the family
who you got to love now
’cause what would they be if not your
own blood
worshin’ —
getting the dirt
off your grimmy body
soap and water on you while you’re
bathing
yonder —
geography
measured in terms of space
between what’s here and there in the
distance
