Along the Hudson

I drive all the way to Poughkeepsie to take the train down into New York

Even through it’s a full hour faster to take the line that runs from white plains

Because the train from Poughkeepsie hugs the Hudson River

I get onto the train and I make sure to sit on the river side

And although I have hours of homework to do

I cannot bear to look away from the river

Shining in the first sunny day of springtime

Along the river I look for birds

I see migrating canada geese in synchronized Vs

Finally returning to this land as the sunlight soaks into the rocky earth

I see scraggly crows joking from the tree tops and power lines,

This train full of people is the finest joke they’ve seen in years and god knows, they needed a good laugh

There’s one hawk

Too proud for the bent crooked maple beneath it, I know she is looking for opportunity,

Her hard eyes and dirty feathers hint at a pain I know she’ll never tell me

But she is sure to tell me about the beauty and power of her wings and the way they move even the air to her will.

On the train I see the rolling hills of the hudson valley.

I know the giant who lived in peace with the Haudenosaunee people

Who tread lightly across her back

I see her strong shoulders and I sense the strength of her legs

I am awed by the curve of her belly into the soft green-ness of her shores

And I weep with her that we all forgot her tremendous beauty

And in this way I too am the Hudson River.

Along the river I count every single bud

On every single tip of every single branch of every single tree

Birch, maple, oak, pine, beech, aspen, and poplar

They all promise:

“Springtime”

Whisper:

“Rebirth, life”

Each bud is a friend and lover

I cannot wait to meet each individual leaf.

I’m particularly fond of the red maples in their

Pink bundles, turning the sky and hillsides a cheery red.

I sit and watch the river go by and I watch the springtime start

And I feel the tides pull at my chest.

I would drive countless hours for this.