Pechora
by Scott Erb
Flowing through Komi in the far north
The Pechora river, beautiful and wide
Uniting villages in the summer by boat
Snowmobiles in winter, an arduous ride
A Russian jeep skids on rutty muddy roads
That cease where the village ends
The highways don’t go this far north
Isolated lives, family and friends
To the outside eye it’s poverty
They know their lives are hard
So they rely on their solidarity
And the river, wide and proud
And they love the river Pechora
Its fish has feed them over the years
Its in their soul, the river Pechora
And in the winter come the Reindeer
A captain guides his ship
Over twenty years its been his life
Now he trains others for these trips
It’s time to spend time with his wife
And the river provides, but hardly enough
To mimic the modern world they see on TV
Past, present and future, the choices are tough
Hunger and unemployment the reality
The river flows to the future
Fishermen cast their nets like they’ve always done
Young eyes look ahead, unsure
If they should stick around or if they should run
Still there’s the river Pechora
Timeless beauty under the midnight sun
Its in their soul, the river Pechora
To freeze when the dark winter winds begin