Faye Sizemore

THE COAL TATTOO

After the lamp was lit
and I was in bed…
I would lay there
and listen to all
that my parents said
I heard what it was like
not to see the sun
for seven long days…
not even one
Winters spent underground
… not a ray of sun around
Ten hour shifts
chipping coal
from underground clefts
Miners lives get lost
and are gone for good
Never forgotten
or understood…
braving a cave-in or a mountain ‘bump’
… just to bring up that coal chipped from a lump
I know what the ‘straw boss’ said
I overheard it at night
when I was in bed
I got it firsthand
and I knew it was all true…
for upon his cheek… Daddy wore
‘the coal tattoo’…

Author’s Note: The trapped Utah miners are in my prayers