Remembering Hands Across the Border, 1994
By Mary Ellen Talley
Nine Girl Scouts sit around a table
intently placing
red, white, and blue seed beads
on small eight gold safety pins.
Some beads roll across the floor.
They’re so tiny,
echo the laughing ten-year-olds.
We co-leader moms
drop our share of beads, too.
Soon everyone has created
American flag pins
to give as gifts
when we caravan from Seattle
to the U.S./Canadian
border to make new friends
at the two Peace Arch parks
where the 1921
border-straddling monument reads,
Children of a Common Mother,
our girls excited to join
in Hands Across the Border
with Girl Guides from Canada.
Oh, the international celebration
as our girls crisscrossed grass
under and around the Peace Arch
with vibes as friendly
as a tribal potlatch where generosity
is embedded in culture.
I remember that brisk day
and still have one flag left.
Sometimes I wear it on the 4th of July.
Now it’s 2026.
I google Hands Across the Border,
and find there will be an event this year.
But Canadian Girl Guides won’t participate,
citing concerns about safety, inclusivity,
and U.S. immigration practices.
I have a Girl Scout leader
kind of sadness at the loss of a friendship
we all thought would go on forever.
Mary Ellen Talley’s poems have appeared in many journals including Louisville Review, Deep Wild, and Trampoline as well as in multiple anthologies. Her chapbooks are: “Postcards from the Lilac City” from Finishing Line Press, “Taking Leave” from Kelsay Books, and “Infusion” online at Red Wolf Journal. She resides in Seattle, WA and worked for many years as a school-based speech/language pathologist (SLP.) Her website is www.maryellentalley.com.
