October 20, 2026
The Carving Stone
No quiet mirror holds the sky,
Where water breaks the mountain bone;
A rushing white that will not die,
Turned sharp against unyielding stone.
Cold from the river, the torrent pours
Across the ribs of ancient rock,
A steady voice that through the shores
Defies the coming winter clock.
The foam dissolves in dark cascades,
The granite glints with spray and cold;
Before the autumn color fades,
The river claims the ground to hold.
Cold autumn current tumbling across exposed granite at Buttermilk Falls in Long Lake. Where the Raquette river drops toward Raquette Lake, the churning white water scours dark, moss-slick bedrock, generating a persistent mist that chills the surrounding shoreline conifers.
Field Note: Canon R5, tight 1:1 square crop framing the churning white foam and wet rock striations. Hamilton County, New York.