by Bill Savitsky

You took my father, brother too
Grandfathers that I never knew
Many men in my ancestry
And now you’ve come for me

You bent my back, you broke my bones
At night my children hear my moans
Please take a different path than me
For kids I’ll never see

You stripped away my life’s red blood
Eroded in a coal black flood
You poisoned air and land and streams
But you can’t cloud my dreams

Take my breath, take my lungs
Until I’m starved of oxygen
Take my veins like robbing coal
But you can’t steal my soul                       

As I board that gospel ship
Away from mortal shores I’ll slip
King Coal I have one modest plea
Just spare my family

Bill Savitsky is a freelance writer, editor and photographer who was born and raised in Shenandoah, the son and grandson of coal miners. After attending The American University and then Penn State University, he returned to his hometown as planned because he always wanted to give back to the coal region of his upbringing. Following work with regional newspapers, he became a longtime Northeast Pennsylvania correspondent for The Patriot-News of Harrisburg until it ceased statewide coverage. He then became a guest teacher for special education students in numerous regional school districts and finished his full-time career as a case manager for Schuylkill Community Action, providing low income residents of Schuylkill County with assistance in food, housing and utilities.

Also by Bill Savitsky 
He Never Turned a Miner from his Door; I Still Hear Polkas