Radio Roads To The Sierras Poem by Bill Galvin

What am I doing here without you?

Sitting alone in a back seat,
Being chauffeured to the mountains
By your loving, helpful, well-intentioned family;
Climbing the western slopes of California;
Being shown lovely new scenery;
And thinking how you would love this place;
The green, wooded, river valleys;
The camps down at water’s edge;
The surrounding mountains topped with spring snow.

Pacific beach, coastal hills, rocky mounts;
Vineland, highland, urban streets;
Highway, byway, back seat or front;
Driver or passenger; conversation or none;
They’re still all lonely, foggy roads
Without you, my love, my Traveling Companion.

It seems I feel more alone when I’m with people;
It’s more obvious without you here, sharing.

Music is playing on the radio,
And wouldn’t you know?
Van Morrisson singing “Moondance” takes me back
To when it became our signature song;
When we would drive to the White Mts in NH,
Or to our favorite Acadia in Maine,
To hike and camp in the 1970s when our love was new,
And our life together was opening to the sun
Like the flower it was to become.

My heart rides like the river rapids I see below;
Rising and falling; happy and sad.
My eyes begin to water at the finality of losing you.

We danced quite often under that moon;
Sang sha-la-la ti-dah with the man on the radio;
Dominoed up and down the highways together;
“There’s no need for argument at all”.

Listening to songs that opened our hearts,
Made us aware of one another;
My memory staggers from one thought to another.

Then, the next song plays…
“Have I told you lately that I love you? ”
My word… part of our loving playlist.

Quietly, back seat tears roll down my cheeks
As I watch time fly by out the rear side window.

6-7-2015