Reunion Number Ten Poem by Bill Galvin

Rio Grande Gorge Bridge, outside Taos, NM – noon

Over forty years ago
You and I traveled the Southwest for the first time.
We stood at this precipitous edge
And peeked over to the cliff-bound river below…
Awestruck, full of apprehension… and wonder.
In our mind’s eye, we saw our future together.
We placed limits on our aloneness,
And allowed a love to shelter us
From the winds of our personal winters.
We traveled together much farther
Than we could have alone.
We gave each other all we needed, and more.
We polished that love over time
And worked to craft a partnership
That carried us to this day.

This day is bright; and winds, they are light;
Blue is the sky, just as were your eyes;
With snow-capped mountains nearby,
The sagebrush and desert cacti
Share witness as I let loose your locks
And watch them fly down to canyon rocks.

We sought the safe harbor, sheltering one other.
We adjusted our sails; persevered all travails.
More winds did their best to disrupt our warm nest;
But like willows we bent, where others relent.

Our love meant neither wanted the other to go first;
To be alone once again, with longing and thirst
For the shoulder to lean on, for the trust to relate,
For the heart and the love of a lifelong soulmate.

We travel back here; Enchanted Circle nearby.
Calm desert breezes, this time, assist, as you fly.

Life as we knew it, I just cannot reclaim;
But great memories can guide me to rekindle our flame.

Beginnings and endings, both part of the same.

3-27-2015