Why do I spend my weekends in the Whites?
I find some consolation in their heights
To blunt the grief that haunts my lowland days,
Inspire me to set out on new assays.
Those alabaster presidential peaks
Outshine a million cities’ neon gleams.
Chocorua’s guardian ridge and craggy brow
Look down benevolently on our town.
Not far from here I loved and was well loved
And in these parts my ancestors once throve.
Since childhood I have trekked these beckoning hills.
Something there is that calls me to them still.
When I no longer reach the summit views,
Walks on these valley trails will also do.