‘Lines Composed in the Adirondack Mountains’ and Other Poetry by Reid McGrath The Society April 30, 2015 Beauty, Poetry 4 Comments Lines Composed in the Adirondack Mountains THERE’S a little town nestled in the hills, with an old house I call by that town’s name; with husks of flies in the chipped window-sills, a metal roof which sheds the snow and rain. I don’t even know the address number: Let me pretend that I am off the map. The morning’s cold; the town is a’slumber. There’re scales of ice out on the lake; the sap is glommed up whitely on the fragrant pines. I savor the air as I take a walk around the lake, admiring the signs brown and yellow, forgetting how to talk. The coffee’s perked when I return; I stoke my friend the wood-stove. Outside blooms the smoke. Lines Composed upon the Mid-Hudson Bridge CHANGEABLE is this river while I drive over this bridge with pylons that denote which lanes are eastbound, which are westbound; I’ve looked down upon these cheeks of ice which float upon the water’s surface like a face that changes its expression every day. The tug-boat ploughs a furrow black; its pace is like that of the turtle’s, towards the bay; Another day the river is a map with continents, tectonic plates, that shift in thawing warmth when trees let-down their sap, or like the squares of fieldscape when you lift off of the runway, in a plane. I love the Hudson, in the winter, from above. Reid McGrath is a poet living in the Hudson Valley in New York. He is winner of First Prize in the Society’s 2015 Competition. Featured Image: “Paisagem de White Mountain” by William Trost Richards. NOTE TO READERS: If you enjoyed this poem or other content, please consider making a donation to the Society of Classical Poets. The Society of Classical Poets does not endorse any views expressed in individual poems or commentary. 4 Responses Shari Jo LeKane-Yentumi April 30, 2015 Dear Reid, I am there. Reply james sale May 1, 2015 Great stuff again, Reid, especially like ‘in the winter, from above’ – it creates a wonderfully mimetic effect. Reply Alec Subre Wide May 3, 2015 Mid-Hudson Bridge by Alec Subre Wide “I really like the images in R. McGrath’s fine po’m, they’re up-to-date, quite striking, snd so aptly they strike home.” —Wilbur Dee Case Mid-Hudson Bridge, located near Poughkeepsie, New York, is a toll suspension span which carries US 44 and NY 55 three-thousand feet across the flow— —ing water down below. Above, bard Reid McGrath composed some lines upon the Hudson’s winter surface recently, unlike those written on the Thames on London’s majesty by William Wordsworth once, or Joseph Bertolozzi’s vent, who played the bridge as if it were a music instrument. Below Modjeski’s Gothic steel towers rising high— 315 feet—the bard observed the river passing by. Reply NealD May 6, 2016 “in the winter, from above.” = arresting dénouement Reply Leave a Reply Cancel ReplyYour email address will not be published.CommentName* Email* Website Δ This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
james sale May 1, 2015 Great stuff again, Reid, especially like ‘in the winter, from above’ – it creates a wonderfully mimetic effect. Reply
Alec Subre Wide May 3, 2015 Mid-Hudson Bridge by Alec Subre Wide “I really like the images in R. McGrath’s fine po’m, they’re up-to-date, quite striking, snd so aptly they strike home.” —Wilbur Dee Case Mid-Hudson Bridge, located near Poughkeepsie, New York, is a toll suspension span which carries US 44 and NY 55 three-thousand feet across the flow— —ing water down below. Above, bard Reid McGrath composed some lines upon the Hudson’s winter surface recently, unlike those written on the Thames on London’s majesty by William Wordsworth once, or Joseph Bertolozzi’s vent, who played the bridge as if it were a music instrument. Below Modjeski’s Gothic steel towers rising high— 315 feet—the bard observed the river passing by. Reply
