A poem by Mara Robbins about the Circle of Protection event on August 13, 2022 in Elliston, VA. The Circle of Protection is a community event that supported the fight against the Atlantic Coast Pipeline and now the Mountain Valley Pipeline.

Circle of Protection, 2022

The river’s alive with sun-warmed stone, footprints
circling the sand. Dogs and goats and children
drift from picnic towards where water went,
restless as guests with guitar and mandolin
joining banjo, bass, unbroken conversation.
Mountains mention us to each other, tuning
into intentions and instrument’s foundation
with resonant gaze. Witness faces blooming
as they’re loved. Chosen. Speak and sing and listen
with hearts and minds unfolding into growing
and supporting and uplifting. What’s missing
is you. Your voice. Your ripe garden. Slowing
down enough to feel what is around you.
To hear what streams and rivers know is true.

This is a poem about an action 4 years ago that was meant to delay the construction of the Mountain Valley Pipeline, a 303 mile long natural gas pipeline cutting from the central piedmont region up to Northern West Virginia. Unfortunately, this pipeline was fully constructed in 2025, however, it is not yet fully operational. In the rush to complete the pipeline before all of the necessary research into its viability was complete, it was constructed without the capability to carry enough pressure to move gas through the entire system. There is no a push to set up pressure station along the length of the pipeline at regular intervals in order to make it viable. These pumping stations are not without issue:

• They will expose vulnerable communities to toxic natural gas
• They create points along the pipeline that potential explosion points
• The specific locations that have been selected for these pumping stations implicate a concerted effort to disrupt and disarm efforts to help indigenous and immigrant commmunities