A bridge – more than just a way across a stream.
It is the call of a goldfinch to its mate – aspen leaves
that flirt with skittish winds. The clatter of cartwheels,
the smell of new-mown hay and freshly dug manure.
The dogged thud of horses’ hoofs, a maze of dusty coigns
where spiders spin their webs or swallows patch their nests.
If this ‘kissing bridge’ could talk what stories might it tell
of bygone years? How man trysts made and broken here?
As impossible to know as count the motes of dust that float
in shafts of sun-light as it filters through the cracks
in the apple-wood trusses.
Legend says the bridge is haunted, but I’d rather keep
an open mind. Pretend I never heard the scratch
of pen on paper, the crunch of tyres on gravel
and fragments of a song – ‘Blue Gardenia’,
as it drifted on the speedwell-scented air.
Or a hushed “Goodbye,” and a woman’s silent tears.
Comments
Nathan Bednarek | September 17, 2008 - 12:52
Typical, you have done it again; produced a fine piece of work... I like this very much. People seem to forget the array of meaning and history that bridges hold and the first line captures that perfectly.
I love the language of this piece. It has a very dream-like and mysterious feel to it and I guess it's because you were trying to capture the mood of the legend, and you did of course!
My favourite lines:
'As impossible to know as count the motes of dust that float
in shafts of sun-light as it filters through the cracks
in the apple-wood trusses.'
Well done.
Ps: (I don't know what it is, but I'm reading this poem with a Scottish accent in my head ;-p )
Nathan.
Silver Spun Sand | September 17, 2008 - 14:43
Hi there Nathan, my thanks to you for reading and I think your Scottish accent is great. How are you with an American one?:-)
Full explanation follows, herewith:-
The Roseman Covered Bridge in Madison County, Iowa, USA, was completed in 1883. While as many as 19 covered bridges existed in the county at one time, Roseman is one of five that remain today. Made famous by Robert Waller in the novel and subsequently the 1995 motion picture "The Bridges of Madison County".
The last two stanzas are a kind of synopisis of the film.
Girl meets boy on bridge. Girl scribbles her address on a scrap of paper and leaves it on boy's
windscreen under the wipers. They have a torrid affair.'Blue Gardenia' by the way is a tune from the film. Girl's husband comes back from abroad, and therefore, sadly boy loses girl. (I might add there is much that happens in between and the occupation of 'boy' is in fact photographing bridges.
I might add, this has to be one of the all-time great films. It stars Clint Eastwood and Meryl Streep. Me and the other half have seen it dozens of times.
Once again, thank you. Glad you enjoyed it.
Tina
tcook | September 18, 2008 - 10:49
I got the Madison County connection but this one feels a tad too schmaltzy for me. I want more mystery and suspense in the poem. I wasn't that keen on the film either! Sorry.
Silver Spun Sand | September 18, 2008 - 11:31
Tony! I am devasted. How can you not be keen on Bridges of Madison County?
Seriously though - it would be a dull old life if we all liked the same things.
I thank you for reading:-)
Tina