# August 2021 Poetry Challenge-Bridge



## rcallaci (Jul 31, 2021)

August 2021 Poetry Challenge
Hello everyone- Time moves forward, a new month is upon us. This will again be a regular month but I will go on the old schedule from now on. Next month will be anonymous, the majority prefers it, so shall it be. We have an interesting prompt this month, many ideas should flow from it. So, get your minds and muses to a thinking and let those words flow on to our virtual paper, remember have fun and stretch your limits and be not afraid.







This is a “regular” month; therefore, *entrants must post their own entries this month.*

Discussion regarding any entry, or any challenge related issues, may take place in either Bistro during any phase of the challenge. Kindly be mindful that secure entries are only discussed in the Secure Bistro to preserve the first rights of entrants.

Please remember that in submitting an entry you are obligated to cast at least one vote in the poll once it is opened. Failure to do so will result in your entry being disqualified.


The prompt for this month's challenge, as chosen by and Jen is *Bridge*


You are free to interpret the prompt in any way you wish, though of course, site rules apply. If you are unsure of the challenge rules, please read the 'stickies' at the top of the board. Please note that _all entries_ are eligible to receive critique in the voting thread. The inclusion of explanatory text or links of any kind within an entrant's challenge entry is prohibited and will be immediately removed upon discovery. As always, only one entry per member is permitted. Entrants must post their own entries in this thread, or if you desire to protect first rights, please post your entry in the secure thread :   https://www.writingforums.com/threads/august-poetry-challenge-bridge.195073/   and then post a link to it here in the public thread. Failure to do so runs the risk of your entry being disqualified, so if you require assistance with the task, please PM me and I will gladly help you if I can. I'm early again, this way I can make adjustments-still new at this.

If your entry contains strong language or mature content, please include a disclaimer in your title.

Kindly make sure your entry is properly formatted and error free before you submit. You have a ten-minute grace period to edit your piece, but anything edited after that will likely see your entry excluded from the challenge.

Do not post comments in this thread. Any discussion related to the challenge can take place in the Bards’ Bistro for entries on the public board, and the Secure Bards’ Bistro for entries on the secure board.

Everyone may now use the "Like" function whenever they so choose.

*This challenge will close on the 15th of August at 7pm EST.*


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## rcallaci (Aug 2, 2021)

The Bridge on the River Nowhere (language warning)

The bridge to nowhere leads to many places of inconsequential insignificance. I travel on it every day and can never remember getting on or off. I remain in a dream without structure, cradled within a crumbling foundation, finding myself asleep behind a steering wheel in a beat-up car without an engine on deflated tires riddled with rusty nails. I’m that guy in that Beatle song, you know which one. I’m going nowhere on a cloud of lost dreams on a bridge built on misery and despair. I need to find the engineer to show me directions on how to get the fuck off…


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## rcallaci (Aug 6, 2021)

John and Susie

"Hey, Johnny dearest, you got me" ?
"Oh my Susie, I thought you had me"
"You old fool, I said come help me",
"You old fart my hands slipping free"
Two people in love will find a way
In a predicament with each other
Even though they might fall down
They'll weather the seas together
65 years married
And they still find comedy
Each other they carried
And they found the remedy
"Dearest Susie I want you to know,
I'll go with you wherever waves flow"
"Oh my sweet Johnny, you're such a fool,
you came with me so you wouldn't fall"

Poem written by* Ozofeteam*


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## apple (Aug 6, 2021)

Severing the Boy  


I go to the trestle to play,  
drop rocks into the river 
just to see the splash. 
I find pieces of glass  
and use the sun  
to set dry leaves on fire. 
And when it’s time, I lie down on the track  
and wait. 

Vibrations warn me, 
kindle me to burning, 
as the rumble, deep and hard, 
manifests its mass. 
It roars and shrills  
and just before my death 
I roll away.

Breathless,   
I watch the faces of swallowed people   
Illuminate inside the silver streak. 
They point their fingers,  
exalting me. 
Their mouths expressing awe.  

_My mother’s arms are full of babies. 
Her last edge is full of me 
when my father’s face 
spills into her eyes. 

She alights, 
like a nerve of razors. 
Words without a master 
disassemble me 
as she picks through my pieces 
and stores them in small boxes 
underneath her bed. 
The good, the bad, the ones to burn. 

In the dark, I hint of savage eyes_. 

Tomorrow,  
I will go back to the trestle, 
drop larger rocks,
set bigger fires,  
again,
to practice how to grow a man.


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## Deleted member 64995 (Aug 7, 2021)

BRIDGE


I saw you on that bridge for the first time in 39
the nagging war, made the joy of living rot,
under the dark of the empty future prospect.
I never understood what you were doing at the time. .
I crossed that bridge every morning, with the others.
On that bridge, I saw you with him for the first time,
but you weren't smiling.
I wanted to take you away, but you weren't alone on the bridge,
you were always with him,
day after day.
And I, kept waiting for you on that bridge,
but by now he had become an integral part of your soul,
I could not separate you.
He used to do. funny faces, now you were laughing,
so I passed on and left you alone on the deck.
Work took me far, that's when I went back to the bridge
you were still, always with him, but you weren't alone,
those children were so beautiful when they laughed.
I never wanted to stop children They laughed ...
I left you on deck, alone, I didn't want to disturb.
I didn't see you again for many years.
I sighed, and went back to the deck,
you were always there with him.
How you got old, all those lines on your face,
all medals of a life lived at times happy, at times suffered.
I was always there, looking at you
Now you saw me is always with him, hand in hand you approach me,
" sorry for the delay. Now we are ready "
 I smile I take you by the hand and we cross the bridge.


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## Sinister (Aug 8, 2021)

A Bridge To Mar

I've got a torch.
On an island
with cold water about,
it gives me warmth.
In the dark, it gives me light.

These creatures on nearby islands,
how they like to build!
Tacking and sinking pillars
step-by-step, nearer.
Their voice get clearer.
Their intentions, I don't mirror.
My safety, I fear for.
But I have my hot scepter.

One sugar kiss from it,
their bridges become lit.
Then they have the warmth.
I will share my light.
But my gift of heat and sight,
just encourages them to fight,

riling them into a new fit.
Where were they trying to get?
Here to me?  Is that it?
Do they see at all?
I just thought they were cold.

They will never see the light of day
if they don't stop building all the night.
They'll miss all the sights this way.
Missing every single view despite
being upright in a blessed sun ray.
It'll all be lost on their workday.

And the soul that bleeds
to find neater lives,
will wither in the same soil I thrive.
They think I cannot find
the meaning of life without their drives.

My island does not want a Bridge.

-Sin


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## petergrimes (Aug 8, 2021)

burning bridges

I watch
fuelled by my propellant
as bridges burn
too easily
foundations should be stronger
the longer they've remained
instead they subside
and roads well trod
sink without a trace
leaving tangled cables
as twisted spiders webs
each separate strand aflame
branded on the night
my mind a gutted wreck

I raise my bottle
dance in false bravado
that stage before denial
worshipping the blaze
I'm the only one to blame
though I never lit
those fires


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## ritudimrinautiyal (Aug 9, 2021)

The Deal

Two pillars stood apart
supporting the different structures. 
Then system asked them
to support a bridge, 
with a deal all could pass on either side
equal for both, 
system placed no restrictions. 

The bridge was formed. 
But the deal was broken. 
The system supported one pillar. 
The route became one way. 
All footfalls fell on the single side, 
 turned it into
an empty, lonely road. 
The system kept watch on the other side, 
waiting for the moment
for the side, that was helpless
 to implode. 



 Ritu


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## Matchu (Aug 11, 2021)

Withdrawn


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## Kehlida (Aug 13, 2021)

*Blood of the Covenant*

  Leaning sideways from the weight I shoulder
wondering when all this drama will blow over​  They choose venom and violence, refusing to confront their pain
  Our blood defines us as family
but we’re divided by choices we’ve made​  People who claim to love me sink their claws in the same
  The ones I would die for drain me

  I am sick of being branded by my failures
drawn under my skin, below all this ink​  Crucify me for art I design
while ignoring me for scars I hide​  Knives in hand; they assert dominance in vain
  Signing names on my bones like lovers carve on bark
but all I hear is your voice as I break​
  Nobody modeled proper right from wrong
yet wait for me to know a good thing​  So, do I sever our binds or hang around a while?
  For now, I remain clueless and well-contained

  I have family blooming from different trees
while withering branches and poison fruit spring from mine​  I know we’re tainted from our roots
but nothing should excuse victimizing the youth​  Never did I see a hero, only bad seeds
  Recovering from trauma but still alive to end things
I will not carry this curse​  A disease ran in our blood until it met me

  No longer will I defend the lengths I’ll stride
to defend my peace of mind​  Chosen, by birth, or pre-planned – if my trust falls from their hands
I will count them out as a new dead limb​
  Consider it a culling as I rid my circle of vampires,
false friends and any ill-intended​  Those determined to snuff out my heart
lie blinded by the dark of me​  A cleansing to bring rebirth; a new me
rising like a phoenix​  My world may drown in flames as I bear witness
  This is the burning of our bridges


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## Phil Istine (Aug 15, 2021)

*Driftwood*

I peered across the rift
as you struck your match
then gaped as flames
danced against the bridge’s timbers
but still I would not utter your Creator’s name

Rotting trusses creaked
when the Devil’s Breath
intensified the fire
and flaming falsehoods plunged into the river

engulfed


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## rcallaci (Aug 15, 2021)

The Poetry Challenge is now closed

A poll will be up later tonight


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