Little Girl, Little Boy Lost In 1977 Poem by Bill Galvin

We were hiking in the hills of Acadia;
Two small adjacent Maine wooded hills,
With a valley between.
We got separated, as was our mood tense;
On separate routes then;
Two former and future trail partners,
In a col of conflict and confusion.
You were sad, wandering anxiously,
“Where do we go from here…? ”
Was written on your face every day.

I hear a plaintive cry down the slopes,
Like that of mourning dove, repeated…
“Willy Wonder…? ... Willy Wonder…? ”
It may sound silly, but it was full of meaning;
You named a recipe Willy’s Wonder Rice,
But you never called me that before or after.
A plea to God, to Nature, to an unknown future?
You thought you were alone,
Your echo only known to yourself.
Or you were hoping I would hear you,
From down in the valley, crying inside?
But we never spoke of it.
An early sign of the strain on us,
That all would not be easy.
I placed it in my memory bank,
Not knowing good sign or bad.
But knowing true well of your sensitivity.

You went on from there to your solo adventure
Cross-country; to see new perspectives, views,
Lifestyles, attitudes… searching for your self.
I, too, searched onward without you,
Heart wrenched, knowing we’d possibly never reunite,
Gambling our future. Poor fool.
(When we met again, who would we be?)

But at that moment, I knew,
That you were someone special.
And you were revealing to me
The inmost flower of your being…
The morning glory, who must be shielded
From the strongest rays of a high sun.

I knew deep down then,
If God willed it, after our separate searches;
If we were destined to be once again together,
That I would be strong enough to provide that shield.
That possibility was frightening to me then;
But, somewhere within me was the seed planted,
The germ of a message,
To be read by a clearer head, at a later date.

My God, was I fortunate.
You were beautiful and had many admirers.

When our paths did cross again at last
At a still rocky trail intersection;
We were at least at a place
Where we could see the view together once more;
And discuss our personal sights and travails
That brought us to that junction of trails;
And panorama returned to our field of view;
Since we could see more as one, than as two.

Once again trail partners, traveling companions;
Assisting each other across streams again;
Helping relieve the load of a heavy pack again;
Easing the anxieties of cliff-edge hikes again;
Enjoying the views from a high rock,
Sitting on a log in a forest glen,
Lying in a hammock sipping on a drink,
Rocking in a chair in our back yard.
We knew we weren’t perfect,
But we were good and right for each other.

Imperfect people working toward a perfect love.

There were many more mountains to climb,
But we traveled the rest of the journey never alone,
Never without one another by our side.

Till death us did part…

Just another short term adieu…
Till we meet again, Honey Pie.

4-30-2015 (Sonoma, CA)