Just another day in the mines

A man working in the mines and made sacrifices for his job just to get laid off.

By olivia s. from Morehead Writing Project in Kentucky

He wakes up every day before dawn

He kisses his wife and child to say goodbye

He told them he’d be home before nine

Just another day in the mine


They, of course, knew this was a lie

But they just smiled and said alright

They’d grown accustomed to this life

Just another day in the mine 


After he left, they said a prayer

Father, please keep him under your care

So many unknowns and what-ifs

Just another day in the mine


He came home early that evening

Worry instantly flooded their faces

Why hadn’t they been kept in the Good Lords graces

It was his last “just another day” in the mines



Morehead Writing Project

Dr. Deanna Mascle's Fall 2018 Writing I Classes

Dr. Deanna Mascle's Fall 2018 Writing I Classes

More responses from Morehead Writing Project

Surprise Me

I am from

This video is about a person who comes from a small town. She is so ready to leave but realizes nobody else is.

Treat Others How They ALL Deserve

This letter encourages others to treat others with equality and to realize that everyone is in fact, human.

MY AMERICAN SACRIFICE

This is a series of haikus about my lover and his dreams. Integrated in this written creation are my hopes how things will work out, reality, and my greatest fear. The poem is divided into 7 parts to represent every day of the week.

Eclipse Glasses

Colored storms meets the catastrophic miracle.

Dear America

America break up letter.

What it's like to be me.

It's just simply a poem describing what I feel like being an american citizen.

To the Broken, You are not Alone

My poem and letter are to those people who don't think life is worth living anymore. It is for the people who are giving up on everything and have no sense of hope anymore. If you are someone like this, I pray you find help. I pray you find hope.

My Dad's American Creed

Going through the American Creed process really had me curious about how my dad would respond the whole time. So, for my project I decided to find out how he felt in a video interview by asking the same questions.

Dear America

This letter was to bring attention to how powerful America can be as a nation. It was designed to point out the flaws America has right now so they can be addressed and corrected in the near future.

Make a stand, Change the world

Don’t settle for less, Work for more We always say we try to do better But never start doing We always say we need to be better But never start to be Nobody ever looks in the mirror Maybe it's time we do that We need change Now How could everyone

Broken America

This is a poem that brings all my ideas about mass incarceration, the issues towards felonies' rights ,and the impact this has on the American dream in one piece of writing. I have also added an illustration I drew to further push these ideas.

Okay, Boomer

A reflection of the world and generational divides in our country between baby boomers and millennials, as written by a millennial.

More responses from Kentucky

Surprise Me

My American Creed

Freedom is important because having freedom allows us to learn from our mistakes. It was also one of the reasons why this country was founded and is why we have so many people who want to come to this country because other country don't have the same freedom and rights as we do.

My American Creed

My American Creed is about how the words Difference, Struggles, and Together makes me American. Difference means that we are all different. Struggles means that sometimes people need help and struggle. Together means that we can accept people.

American Creed and my Family Relations

With my past being linked to America and the jobs my family have done and still do, can connect to my American Creed by helping America with agriculture, service, and determination to show the American way.

American Creed: Acrostic Poem

This poem that I have made is what I believe my American Creed is.

American Creed-Freedom

A Simple summary of American freedom and how we are fortunate to have these freedoms.

My American Creed

This poster describes my American Creed. These words show my beliefs about America.

Red White and Blue

The United States of America is a country that’s full of opportunity, greatness, and the chance to really become the best person you can be.

My American Creed

This poster shows words that describe and make up My American Creed.

I AM AMERICAN

My project is a poem about my American creed and being American. Being American is about having opportunity, freedom, and a chance at new life.

American Creed

My poem is about civil rights, individuality, and capability as people of our nation.

Tanners American creed

This is my american creed

Daphne cobb's American Creed

For my american creed assignment I chose to make a word collage. Each word is one that I feel represents being an american.

More responses about "coal"

Surprise Me

Writing Our Future: American Creed is part of the National Writing Project’s family of youth publishing projects, all gathered under the Writing Our Future initiative.

Writing Our Future projects are designed by educators for educators and the young people they work with. Intended for use in schools, libraries, and other educational settings. All projects are COPPA compliant and educator-managed. NWP is committed to supporting young people’s writing and civic participation by providing a safe and supportive environment for youth writing, media creation, sharing, and publishing.