Part Two : Wyoming
O it will be beautiful.
—Gabrielle Calvocoressi, from “At Last the New Arriving”
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The Anchor
Wilmot Munson, sixteen years of age,
was short and stocky like his father, Diah.
Marked by the gap-toothed smile and dimpled chin
passed on from time to time to Munson sons,
Wil shared Diah’s energy and strength,
his keen blue eyes, his fiery red hair,
and most of all his eagerness to move
beyond the boundaries of Connecticut.
But unlike Diah, Wilmot’s voice and heart
were softer than his father’s ever were.
Born on a summer night when the moon was full,
this second child and second son was quick
to learn the skills reserved for boys and men.
But Rachel, in her wisdom, taught her Wil
not only how to cipher, read and write,
but also all the chief domestic arts—
cooking, sewing, gardening, how to cure
the common illnesses—and by example,
how to live an honorable life
of industry, humility and grace.
Barnabas, the eldest, was away
at Yale when Diah left the family
to clear his pitch in the Wyoming Valley.
Thus it was that Wil, as next in line,
was tasked to stay behind to care for Rachel
and his siblings. He assumed this role
with constancy, but not without a twinge
of wounded pride and smoldering resentment
he tried without success to hide from Rachel,
who knew his thoughts as though they were her own.
STAY TUNED FOR PART TWO, CHAPTER TWO
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