11/20/2025
"Remember the Way"
By Iva of Appalachia
"They came across the waters, fleeing kings and cruel decrees,
They sought the quiet mountains, and the shelter of the trees.
No lord to own their labor, no crown to take their bread,
They carved a life from granite, and the land became their stead.
They trusted not the mighty, nor the hand of government men,
For promises were broken time and time again.
They leaned upon each other, their word was all they gave,
And taught their sons and daughters that a people must be brave.
They found their strength in silence, in the work their hands could do,
In fields of corn and sorghum, in the timber split in two.
Their voices carried wisdom, in story, song, and prayer,
They left us all a legacy that still is living there.
Now hear the call, Appalachians, the hills remember still,
The creeks that sing our history, the graves upon the hill.
Turn back from false salvation, from the merchant’s hollow schemes,
The truth is in your bloodline and the mountains of your dreams.
Do not forget your elders, the ones who walked before,
They asked us guard the homeland, and betray their trust no more.
Stand firm against the tyrant, and the lies of polished men,
Come back unto the mountains, and be whole again."
