The Bridge-Builder

The Bridge-Builder

I need to get from shore to shore,
to cross the water as a biped,
the bridge-builder says.

The bridge-builder sees water
as a source of dissatisfaction,
wishy-washy terrain.

The bridge-builder assembles a crew:
men unafraid of moving in air,
the water's canopy

too far to protect them from a fall;
engineers who know the limits
of concrete and of steel.

The bridge-builder convinces the world
that they need a road by pointing across
at the opposite shore. Over

there, life is waiting for you.
If that doesn't work, the line becomes
They need us, over there.