photo "Hopscotch to Oblivion" by Andy Wright
Bridge Building for Beginners
How princesses and pirates were press-ganged from plastic
cutlery, paper cups, papier-mâché,
newspaper hats, patches, paint.
The headlines, the cover-ups! How we as kids
recycled wonder from waste.
How our kids still rattle packets, heckle boxes ‘n sniff
‘n sneak, happily peeking illegally
into wrappers under our trees.
The reach of our trees exceeds our long arms! Now our kids
whisper-up worlds in their sleep.
How our kids use books to build houses and bridges
with walls ‘n floors ‘n rooves ‘n all,
‘n angles ‘n arches ‘n eaves.
It’s what pulped wood’s good for! How our kids
build bridges with leaves.
Engineering wonders; how pirates evolve,
as recycled love via bridges, from nerds.
How our kids grow out of ourselves, off our shelves
and into our lives. How the internet lives! How our world
grows out of our words.
Bridging – The Gap
Life under a hard hat, the constant
cacophony of construction, percussive
tools ‘n tool belt, tool box, pick-up truck and
heavy callused hands try to touch softest skin, can’t
sand down thick skin enough
to allow contact.
Tries like a nail gun,
can’t, can’t, can’t.
