Opioids in the Holler

We been huntin a long while now

Not for deer or bear

for somethin smaller

somethin that gets inside a person

and won’t let go

It started with pain

a back broke down in the mine

a hand crushed workin steel

a doctor sayin take one of these

and get some rest

Now the hollers are full of ghosts

walkin on two legs

lookin for a way back home

We search where the laughter used to be

by the river

behind the high school bleachers

in trailers with the lights still on at dawn

The hunt wears you thin

We pray in parking lots

and wait outside the jail

We pray names into the dark

hopin somebody hears

Every soul we save feels like spring

and every loss lays heavy as scripture

Sometimes one of em steps out of the fog

eyes clear

hands shakin

sayin I made it through

We wrap em up like kin

and thank God for the breath in their chest

This ain’t a hunt for killin

It’s a hunt for keepin

for bringin our people back from the edge

for chasin off the shadow

that opioids laid across these ridges

And long as there’s breath in these mountains

we’ll keep on huntin