Acadian Pages Poem by Bill Galvin

I have fought, and been sought;
I have been embattled here.
I’ve bled, dread, died and been reborn here.

It’s been my personal Waterloo,
But also my Shangri La; even my Utopia;
It’s been my chapel with a water view.

I’ve met demons, devils, gods, and angels;
Artists, poets… searching and sincere;
The humble and the know-it-alls.
Met them all in the past forty-five years.

I’ve sighed, denied, decried;
Dreamt dreams till I was bleary-eyed;
Crammed, jammed, demanded;
And been slammed and damned here.

I’ve played tour guide and field medic;
No starred, five starred;
I’ve even lived here as an ascetic.

I’ve hiked, biked, boated, floated,
Camped, canoed, scaled cliffs when I got bolder.
And as the hills got steeper,
I serenely walked these trails when I got older.

Been here alone;
Brought family, lovers, and friends;
Been down all back ways, byways, alley ways,
And unmapped dead ends.

I’ve confessed, been blessed,
Regressed, and progressed here.
I’ve been high, and I’ve been down;
I’ve been dry, and I’ve been drowned
And resurfaced while facing fear.

I’ve taken up, shaken up, wakened up love up here.
Connected, reflected, rejected darkness here…
Reviewed, rebuilt, renewed character here.
I’ve been trapped by mountain fog;
Many a time I’ve slipped on wet moss or a log;
I have fallen and gotten back up here.

Moonlighting, moondancing; blueberry picking;
Sun setting, sun reflecting back to me, sun rising;
Songs sung across the waters while picnicking;
Things happening as expected; then some so surprising.

I’ve had high tea here;
Drunk rum, tequila, whiskey, and beer;
Sat with morning coffee
On a lone rock looking out at a resolving sea;
Been depressed, cried many a tear;
But nary a place will ever compare
To where my heart always wants to be… here.

I love the thunder and lightning,
And the pounding waves…
I love the calm inland lakes and their tranquility.

I’ve been driven by love of Nature;
Love of truth; love of solitude;
Love of balance; love of a Great Spirit;
Love of little-trod trails that end in quietude.

In a long life,
With lots to dismiss and much to rejoice,
Some things stare me in the face…
This beautiful land has been my drug of choice.
Whether with heartache or heartbreak,
With joy, or for some other’s sake,
Reserved or resigned, restructured or refined,
It never fails to deliver me to a heavenly place.

This place, where heart and spirit can heal;
Where souls can be re-centered.

Acadia, where peregrine falcons nest;
Where my heart sees it all, has seen it all,
And remembers all the best.

7-23-2015