Close to Timberline
I want the spacious
sweep of a
green mosaic,
those Tupper Lake
marshes and
fountainheads of
majestic streams.
I want countless
warm ponds
wrapped in cold
weather. The
teardrop of the lake
itself. I want the
secret sources of the
Hudson, log bridges,
and vanished paths.
I want a thin mist.
Ferns, sedges,
grasses, and white-
cedar thicket.
The deep woods.
The spring thaw.
Just early snow on
the tumbled rocks.
George Cassidy Payne is an independent writer, domestic violence counselor, and adjunct instructor in the humanities at Finger Lakes Community College.
George's blogs, essays, letters, poems, and photographs have been published in a wide variety of national and international outlets such as USA Today, The Atlantic, The Wall Street Journal, National Public Radio, The Buffalo News, Albany Times-Union, Syracuse Post Standard, Rochester Democrat & Chronicle, The Toronto Star, The Minority Reporter, Chronogram Journal, Ovi Magazine, CounterPunch, Moria Poetry Journal, Ampersand Literary Review, Adirondack Daily Enterprise, and more.
George's first book of poetry, A Time Before Teachers, is available at Amazon.com.
View all posts by →
Recent Almanack Comments