Coal Miner’s Family Prayer

The children now grown and gone
The father’s body broken and worn
His bucket and hat now lay in the rust
His once clear lungs now filled with dust
His once blackened face never a disguise
He was a hero in his family’s eyes
Their love for is so complete
It is an honor just to sit at his feet
Young blood now greets the morning skies
A newly scrubbed face and black lined eyes
His youngest son followed his steps
To earn a living and pay his debts
Broken arms and broken legs
Fractured eye bones and God I beg
Keep the miners through this night
And let them see the morning light

-Marsha Cutlip Paul-