This piece is about the Washington Ave bridge in Minneapolis, MN. This is the same one where John Berryman (author of “Dream Songs”) jumped in 1972.
The Bridge
Running across the bridge
Spanning the Mississippi
I stay outside the maroon shelter
Preferring light mist upon my face
Blending with tears
Crisp fall day
Leaves crunching underfoot
Lining the river banks with
Color and vivid imagination, the branches spin
And twirl, a vortex of hues and painted scenes
I stop
That from which I run is near
When we break, we fall
Our shadow will follow every step
I stand atop the rail
Looking below, slow moving
Water, slight wake from a passing barge
I try desperately to block the others
Passing by, inquisitive looks glaring upon
My body, my wings
I can fly with pearl white wings
Spread like an albatross
The space around bends and allows
Free-flight to jump
I jump
I awake to a dark room
Stuffy and damp, the air is heavy
My lungs pushing hard to inhale
And exhale the demons
Bolting upright in bed
My mind a mess
These demons consuming me
I do not know who you are
I do not know your face
But the beauty overwhelms
You have been here
Your scent survives
The midnight hour is struck
I head outside
The misty midnight sun, a layer
Of yellow wine shimmering and
Flowing elegantly down the Mississippi
Crisp air filling my lungs
I light a Djarum
Swirling in baked ham and cloves
The crackle echoes fervently into the shelter
I stand near, images growing, hiding
Drifting, play with my mind
Slowly dodging the shelter of maroon
I head to the rails
A thin mist
Wind blowing through my hair
Looking down a slight web of silk
Vibrating, stretched between the rails
Illuminated by the moon
