North to Maine
routes slice
pollen saturated spring,
climb past Mount Kisco,
Hartford/Vernon’s foothills
Massachusetts’
Dracut-Tyngsboro Forest

roads blasted
through mountains
where branches swell,
remember
leaves flash sun

North to Maine
routes cover
in a day ––
terrain
that tried the hardy,
pass Merrimac milltowns,
factories
          deserted
                    cities barely holding on

North to Maine
voyagers pass
in annual flight
          from
full-blown spring
to just beginning,
          present
to returning

North to Maine
momentum gains
                    on rocky shores