They say
that millions of years ago the earth was flat and covered by the oceans.
Then the tectonic plates moved and collided and crinkled and pushed up mountains.
Rivulets of rain water formed a brook, then a stream, then a river,
taking with it small particles of the mountain,
until now we have
craggy peaks and deep, dark valleys.
They say.
There were no witnesses.
The evidence is circumstantial but compelling.
Exempli gratia: southern West Virginia.
copyright joseph e bird, 2015
Southern West Virginia: Hard as the rocks from which its hewn, beautiful as the natural forces that soothe.
I’m working on a piece of creative non-fiction about southern West Virginia. It’s a different world. More on that another day.
I was in the area yesterday working on a project. Here’s what I encountered.
Above: Clear Fork Creek, deep in Raleigh County.
Below: A railroad trestle far above the road. It may be part of a future recreational rail trail.
Bottom: A barn clinging to life in the town of Artie.
copyright joseph e bird, 2015
Joseph E Bird 