Adirondacks

by J. K. Durick

Riding on 189, heading west
riding into the afternoon light,
there across Lake Champlain
the Adirondacks line up, fill
the scene, become themselves
their moods, their shapes shift,
one day they’re dark and ominous
another, a soft green greets us,
sometimes they’re pale blue
distant figures in vague outline
the suggestion of mountains
we see in Japanese paintings,
some days the cloud cover plays
tricks with them, some light here,
this peak or that fully lit up
while over there a storm rages
while low clouds, long gray hands
capture others, hold them
in anticipation of sun or snow,
a live Hudson Valley painting,
some days, close and threatening,
other days, like happy memories
worth this afternoon’s drive
into this humbling scene.