Small Town
So you think our small town’s
so damn pretty
while you get on your soapbox
‘bout crime in the city.
Maybe on the outside,
the rivers and hills,
but, hear me brother,
small towns can kill.
Be a little bit different
or fight city hall.
You’ll have a target on yo’ back,
won’t be so small.
Lose you some hope.
Get strung out on dope.
Drug problem here?
Leaders say, “Nope!”
Yeah, get on your soapbox
‘bout crime in the city.
Cover them blemishes,
say we’re just gritty.
Let’s get real, bro.
It’s about that time.
I’m sick of this shit.
I’m droppin’ a dime.
Ain’t nothin’ special
‘bout white and small.
You don’t know the city.
You’ve built your own wall.
Ain’t nothin’ special
‘bout white and small.
trauma and abuse,
sisters takin’ the fall.
No, ain’t nothin’ special
‘bout white and small.
There’s blight in both places,
dreams all on stall.
I’ll make you a deal, bro.
Let’s take a ride.
We’ll spend a week in the city.
We’ll walk far and wide.
We’ll meet some good folks,
some mean ones, too.
We’ll spend all our money
before we are through.
If on the way home, bro,
you feel the same way,
that small towns are bright,
the cities all gray,
I’ll settle back in.
I’ll chill for a while.
But when I think of my city,
I’ll cast a wide smile.
Len Shindel began working at Bethlehem Steel’s Sparrows Point Plant in 1973, where he was a union activist and elected representative in local unions of the United Steelworkers, frequently publishing newsletters about issues confronting his co-workers. His nonfiction and poetry have been published in the “Other Voices” section of the Baltimore Evening Sun, The Pearl, The Mill Hunk Herald, Pig Iron, Labor Notes and other publications. After leaving Sparrows Point in 2002, Shindel, a father of three and grandfather of seven, began working as a communication specialist for an international union based in Washington, D.C. The International Labor Communications Association frequently rewarded his writing. He retired in 2016. Today he enjoys writing, cross-country skiing, kayaking, hiking, fly-fishing, and fighting for a more peaceful, sustainable and safe world for his grandchildren and their generation. Shindel is currently working on a book about the Garrett County Roads Workers Strike of 1970 www.garrettroadstrike.com.