Whispering Winds of Appalachia

by John Ellington

am home in these hills. I belong to the rivers. Besides, I’m getting old.

I pass my favorite tree, an eastern white pine that sits on the right edge of the trail, casting its shadow on decades of souls that have passed under its arms.

Only inches deep and feet across for much of its course, this humble creek has maintained the waterfall for thousands of years.

The trout’s smooth, scaleless body wriggles, yearning to be returned to its home. I briefly thank it for what it means to me and thank the Lord for blessing me with the ability to still find these moments.

Families living in the Appalachian Mountains in those days were

tough, loyal to their own kind, and generally uninterested in outsiders.

As if knowing I was at my breaking point, he looked up at me and produced a demonic, shrill scream that still gives me chills to this day.

“Get out of here, pig! Go on, get! Aaaaahhhhh!” If that feral hog was intimidated, he had a funny way of showing it. He sat down, looked up at me silently, and cocked his head to the side.

Secondly, please deliver me from this giant pig. Amen.”

wondered if it was merely mankind’s fault for not being fluent in the subtle voices of nature that came dripping through the ether all around us.

The brush strokes of God were laid upon the canvas of Appalachia in a way that made it impossible not to notice.

Walker could never understand the lack of energy in most people’s souls, the lack of appreciation for the world around them, and the utter dullness of words that they wasted breath on.

To Walker, God spoke through nature, not in some wooden building constructed by the cultural elite. God was in the morning mist, the cool flowing water, the warming rays of sun, and in the movement of mountain air.

We both believed the perfect amount of money is just enough to get by, staving off financial stress. Any more than that would start stripping you of your freedom and dull your appreciation of the world.

Hindsight is a gift of the devil. He waits until all else is quiet before gently whispering into your soul, making you believe you

could have changed the past, present, and future.

No one can traverse the convoluted path of life without someone gently

holding together the pieces of their heart.