Home Again

I was raised over on Buffalo Creek,
Little Buffalo,
they call it,
under the Bluff Mountains.
We could just sit out in the yard
and look up at the Bluff
anytime.
I've been up there
many's the times.
It was beautiful!
It's still beautiful!
I like the mountains.
I've been out a few times,
down to the lowlands,
but I was always glad
to see the old mountains
a-loomin' up in the distance.
Glad to be home again!

Hazel Campbell, 1893 Ashe County
(From: Snowbird Gravy and Dish Pan Pie by Patsy Moore Ginns.)

Hazel Campbell was a resident of Ashe County, North Carolina and a member of St. Mary's Episcopal Church. I knew Miss Hazel when I was a young boy, she was a delightful person to be around. She was pretty much a celebrity in our community.
"Home Again" has always been one of my favorite poems. It reminds me that no matter how long I live in the "lowlands" I am still a mountain man. I think of this poem and Miss Hazel often when I make the trip up Highway 421 into the mountains.
I will make that trip this week for Christmas, and I know that those same mountains Miss Hazel saw will welcome me home again.