Adirondacks Ode

Climb high these mountains And meet cliffs of history Snug against the moon Cold lover's warm kiss Caress each syllable of song Love makes joy exist Adirondacks mist The milk of mothering trees Melted on morning's joy Tongue lark the dark lakes Water births of memory Ego ice thin here The nation's blood lens The red moon night, so pride stakes Claim to fluid truth The wind prowls the skin Stirring leaves of memories A breast dried of peace Algonquian trail Footsteps eat the span of trees Man is small in grief The muskets torment Fusion of mission and right The north shrikes lament And beg migrants gone But wax wing they shun the sun Bunting snow for life. Old Mohawk glory Gone when forest bare shivers In castles of ice Steel teeth scrape the rocks And eat iron from the ore Of greed, killing trees Logging the green tongue Of the sun's wealth of heat For this new kingdom Of civilized men Performing barbaric feats Distant from the den. Dusk the Gilded Age Of rage ... like natives, all past Diseased to the eye A new dawn breaks song And howls of joy claim again The blessings of rain Sceptered in the throat Cities' diamonds of dew Love of warblers note. Love is eagle's joy Climbing high against the breast Peaking in delight.