by Roderick Bates
The bridges hang in mid-air,
as cold winds from Canada
blow over them, under them,
and the cold rain turns to ice
on those narrow spans.
The ground to the west
is warm from months of summer —
the ground to the east, the same.
It is only the connection
which is exposed, changeable.
I am Vermont,
you are New Hampshire.
Both solidly who we are,
we change slowly
with the seasons, with the years.
Our connection — the bridge
we build with such care —
is delicate, vulnerable
to the winds of passing moments,
now hot, now bitter cold.
Let us make our approach with caution,
never hit the bridge too fast or at an angle,
or while occupied with some lesser matter.
Let us always mind that fragile traction;
let us always keep one eye on the bridge,
one eye on the foreign beauty of the other side.
***
photo credit: Katie Sashina, Unsplash
Roderick Bates edits Rat’s Ass Review. His poems appear in The Dark Horse, Stillwater Review, Naugatuck River Review, Cultural Weekly, Asses of Parnassus, fēlan, Last Stanza Poetry Journal, Ekphrastic Review, Sheila-Na-Gig, and Anti-Heroin Chic, among others. His essays have appeared in Motorcycle Magazine and Vermont Life, and online at Hemmings Motor News. He co-wrote the parody magazine Vermont Lifer. He lives and writes in southern Vermont.