The poem parents in Appalachia can’t put down

By Stephen Baldwin, RealWV

“Raise an Appalachian child. Drinking from the creek, swimming in the river. The lightning bug catcher and the banjo picker. Raise an Appalachian child. Untamed. Unashamed. Wild.”

Georgia Clyde Blair’s latest poem is an ode to growing up in Appalachia. Like all her poetry, it’s effortlessly soulful. And the story behind the poem makes it all the more meaningful. 

From Appalachia to…Michigan

Georgia is originally from Harlan, Kentucky, and spent much of her childhood with her family in Davy, West Virginia. “Appalachian culture is so beautiful and rich,” she says, almost longingly. Because as much as she loves it, she is separated from her beloved Appalachia at the moment. 

Several years back, her family moved to Michigan chasing work. She is raising her four children there now. 

I ask how she likes living outside Appalachia? She responds frankly, “I don’t prefer it.”

Georgia is stuck between a proverbial rock and a hard place: Leave her family for the land she loves, or stay in a land that doesn’t understand her and be near to her family. 

“Even though life is harder and work is harder to come by in Appalachia,” she says, “the land calls to you. When you’re a child of them hills, you feel it in your bones.”

‘I want to raise them as mountain children’ 

When Georgia moved to Michigan, she was still in high school. She quickly began to realize the cultural differences being outside Appalachia. 

“The foods I ate to the way I talked to the clothes I wear was all different from others,” she remembers. “I say ‘Mamaw’ instead of “Granny.”” 

But that was only the beginning of the differences she experienced. “There’s not as much pride for where you come from outside Appalachia,” she says. “I want my kids to know their roots and not lose touch with that. I want to raise them as mountain children.”

So she intentionally teaches her children about Appalachia’s history of struggle, their respect for elders, and their ingenuity in tough circumstances. 

It all comes together…in a poem. 

Raise an Appalachian Child

Originally written last year, “Raise an Appalachian Child” enumerates Georgia’s values for her children. 

“I wrote it for them,” she says. “People have really connected with it.” 

On Facebook, it’s been shared thousands of times all across the world. Here’s the full text of the poem: 

Raise an Appalachian Child

By Georgia Clyde Blair

Raise an appalachian child. 

Who rules over all that is wild. 

Who screams with crows 

and dances with foxfire. 

Raise an appalachian child.

Running barefoot on mountain ridges, 

dandelions granting their wishes. 

Raise an appalachian child. 

drinking from the creek, swimming in the river.  

The lightning bug catcher and the banjo picker.  

Raise an appalachian child. 

Who listens to the hills and talks to the bees. 

Chasing the chickens and stringin up beans.

Raise an appalachian child,

Fingers stained with wildberries

Ghost stories about things big and hairy. 

Raise an appalachian child. 

Eyes always filled with wonder 

Bright as lighting and roars like thunder. 

Raise an appalachian child. 

Untamed.

Unashamed.

Wild. 

Raise an appalachian child.

Georgia says the success of the poem is gratifying personally, because it makes her feel more connected to her Appalachian roots. She has a book of poetry called “Where the Foxfire Glows” and is currently working on a children’s book called “What color is melungeon?”

Finding time to write can be a challenge for Georgia, so she often ends up putting pen to paper while her kids are at school or taking naps. She finds the most inspiration when she’s traveling to Appalachia.

“My writin’ is about connections to my roots and culture,” she says. “What it is to hide them or leave them or find them or going through the identity crisis of bein’ a hillbilly. I’ve struggled with that and a lot of Appalachian people do. You feel like you have to lose your accent or carry yourself differently.”

Instead, she sees the beauty in Appalachian culture and traditions, and is determined to instill that in her children. No matter where they live. 

‘Find me a front porch’

One day, Georgia dreams of living back in Appalachia with her children. 

“Find me a spot on a front porch right on the West Virginia-Kentucky border,” she says with a yearning. “I soak it all up when I come back. Not be bogged down by screens and the hustle bustle of city life. Appalachia teaches you how to appreciate the simple things in life.”

If you’d like to read more of Georgia Clyde Blair’s work, you can purchase her book on Amazon.