DOWN IN THE T

“In the middle,
there isn’t much to see.
You won’t find anything
down here in the T.”

They think they’ve got it all
in their border towns,
all edgy and sharp
with education and grime.
They’d never take the time
to find themselves in the middle,
it’d be just a little like committing a crime.

But it’s down here
where things get done,
where the majority lives
– we’re damn near everywhere:
in the mountains, the country,
the mills and factories
among Scarlet Oak trees, we’ll be found, if you care.

And you oughtta, you know,
‘cuz our voice can be heard
– by those who listen, at least
though we don’t work blue
just like you guys do
up North, further West
and out East.

They think they understand us;
they don’t, just yet.
But they will; just wait.
It’ll happen someday
and they’ll never again say
“In the middle,
there isn’t much to see.
You won’t find anything
down here in the T…”