Make this part look rugged, hmm-mm

Allegheny Plateau

This dark shaded stripe, bum bum bum, is the front

Paint the long ridges and valleys below

Hmm-mm

Our town is this dot

Quick dashes mark the property ends

Beech Creek, a rope that turns and bends

Little squares for houses

Strung along roads

The land transfigured into topographic codes

Maps show you what is simple and true

Try laying out a bird's eye view

Not what he told you, just what you see

What do you know that's not your dad's mythology?

Dad was born on this farm

Here's our house

Here's the spot where he died

I can draw a circle his whole life fits inside

Four miles from our door

I-80 ran from shore to shore

On its way from the Castro to Christopher Street

The road not taken, just four miles from our door

You were born on this farm

Here's our house

Here's the spot where you died

I can draw a circle

I can draw a circle you lived your life inside