When we were young we thought the landscape told the truth

 

 When we were young we thought our town, Chappaqua, was the center of the universe,

and nearby Katonah, a dull burg on a hillside north of nowhere.

 Katonah used to be a river town where the Cross River ran into the Croton river. 

 The New Croton Dam changed everything.

Croton River valley flooded for over 20 miles. Over 150 farms were drowned.  

The houses of Katonah jumped up

and ran 

for the hills

  

In praise of public works

The New Croton Dam was built 1892-1906 largely by stone masons who were brought over from southern Italy without their families.  Each stone weighs 2,500 - 3,500 lbs.
Instead of a device designed to hold 34 billion gallons

As schoolboys we climbed up the spillway
think of the New Croton Dam as a sculpture.

The closer you get,

the more beautiful

it is