Things aren't always better on the other side of the bridge. A story-poem about life. |
The Bridge There once was a bridge that spanned a vast sea From one side to the other, you couldn’t see On one side, a tropical forest where fruit did abound The other side was barren, with hot dry desert ground The bridge had seen many events in its life On one stanchion a man had married his wife Many a storm did batter its staunch beams And plenty of sunlight had shone in bright streams While it often witnessed the joy of humans in love Many times it saw death, as people often dove Some survived for a while, but would succumb to shock For the waters far below covered sharp rocks As time passed slowly, the bridge remained steadfast Standing stoically in place while humans moved past Though the terrain nearby underwent many a change The lands near the bridge were always the same The tropical forest longed for a few dry summer days, While the desert pined for rain on its plains and bays The ends of the bridge yearned, improbable though it seemed For their lands to unite and share in every dream To realize these dreams and share in this pleasure Each would have to give up something it treasured The desert would gladly give up the sand and dry air While the forest would give up its lush tropical lairs One day this finally occurred as if by magic The desert was swamped and flooded, how tragic! The forest saw its tropical growth wither and fade, Its fruit once so plentiful, dried up and blew away Now once again the bridge still spanned a vast sea And from one side to the other, you couldn’t see On one side, a tropical forest now grew The other, a barren desert, where cold winds blew What the bridge finally realized in the realm of life Is that your environment can’t change without some strife Often the grass may look greener on the other side But be content with what you have, in it take pride Jim Dorrell 4/10/07 |