What started with a smile ended with a shovel, <br />so I thought. <br />Fifty years later behind the church, <br />Where the hurly-burly began. <br /> <br />Though the silence begged for empathy, <br />Yearning maternal touch, <br />Sloped I stood, <br />Ringing the bells of everlasting friendship. <br /> <br />Then I turned to the campanile, <br />entrusted to my care, <br />Housing the carillon that pronounced Quasimodo's love. <br />Symbol of purity, <br />which rises unsullied through the evening sky. <br /> <br />Oh Shenandoah! <br />Wider than a smile? <br />When will your sailors come home! <br />Festive and morbid among the sea, <br />Please bring your oars to me. <br /> <br />You waved goodbye with a sturdy hand, <br />So many moons ago, <br />Chasing a dream in old Missouri, <br />Where the antebellum pioneers have gone. <br /> <br />So here I stand betrothed to thee, <br />As strong as twain can be, <br />My arms are laid before your eyes, <br />For all goodmen to see.<br /><br />Elliott Rosenberg<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/a-beautiful-friendship/
