A Beautiful Friendship Poem by Elliott Rosenberg

What started with a smile ended with a shovel,
so I thought.
Fifty years later behind the church,
Where the hurly-burly began.

Though the silence begged for empathy,
Yearning maternal touch,
Sloped I stood,
Ringing the bells of everlasting friendship.

Then I turned to the campanile,
entrusted to my care,
Housing the carillon that pronounced Quasimodo's love.
Symbol of purity,
which rises unsullied through the evening sky.

Oh Shenandoah!
Wider than a smile?
When will your sailors come home!
Festive and morbid among the sea,
Please bring your oars to me.

You waved goodbye with a sturdy hand,
So many moons ago,
Chasing a dream in old Missouri,
Where the antebellum pioneers have gone.

So here I stand betrothed to thee,
As strong as twain can be,
My arms are laid before your eyes,
For all goodmen to see.