The Appalachian ranges are believed to be the oldest mountains in the world.

Once jagged peaks, they’re now but rolling hills,
more welcoming than when they were sublime.
The trickling water pleases where it spills,
where craggy peaks give place to rolling hills,
easing the mind like Wordsworth’s daffodils.
An older mountain’s easier to climb.
What once were jagged peaks are rolling hills,
more welcoming this way, if less sublime.

Len Stomski, Greylock from 116, oil on gessoed panel Artwork by Len Stomski. Used by permission.