L Milton Hankins Poet Free verse

A Bridge To Somewhere

Anchored in the solid granite cliffs
On either side of the tree-lined gorge,
Above the C&O tracks and rickety shacks
Of farmers and miners and naked children
Playing in the dirt ‘neath the front porch,
Who stop to watch the coal train passing
Underneath the arching silver steel girders
Wondering wide-eyed how they built that bridge! --
Way up yonder like a humongous gray rainbow
With its promise of faraway places, 
And pots of gold someday in recurring dreams,
Knowing it’s not likely they will escape
Just like none of their older kinfolk did
Even though they believed that bridge
Was the road to places somewhere, anywhere
Away from deep and narrow seams of coal,
And raw memories of their poverty-stained childhood.

FIRST PLACE WINNER
a Brian Strand Contest
Poetry Soup, January 14, 2022

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Kim Merryman January 14, 2022 at 3:15 PM Milton, Excellent descriptive writing. I enjoyed reading your poem. Congrats on your win in Brian's contest! Blessings, Kim M L Milton Hankins January 14, 2022 at 4:10 PM Thank you so much, Kim, for your thoughtful comment.

Caren Krutsinger October 28, 2021 at 9:28 PM A fave for me L Milton Hankins October 29, 2021 at 9:52 AM Wow, thanks so much, Caren. I liked this one myself.

John Lawless October 26, 2021 at 7:16 AM It is a part of the "it's not what we do, it's who we are" syndrome based in a fierce pride in doing what others consider crazy. Excellently written, sharp and gentle all at once.... L Milton Hankins October 26, 2021 at 9:09 AM Thanks, John. I grew up in coal country, and my dad was a coal miner. So, I'm pretty intimately acquainted with it.

Gershon Wolf October 25, 2021 at 8:45 PM Yeah, it's depressing isn't it? Kind of like the old European caste system: My grandpa was a miner. My father is a miner. I shall be a miner. And my son will be a miner. 'Course you and your son may have to move to China, if Biden and team get their way -- though something tells me coal will be around a lot longer than the pundits think... :) gw L Milton Hankins October 25, 2021 at 8:59 PM I suspect it will be...but, then, what do I know? West Virginians and East Kentuckians are pretty dependent and plugged into coal mining. Many of them know nothing else.

Shirley Hawkins October 25, 2021 at 6:23 PM Life is like a lottery. Too little for some, too much for others. Thank godness for dreams. Another of your thought provoking poems. Thank you, Milt ... L Milton Hankins October 25, 2021 at 7:33 PM That is so true, Shirley. Thanks for your kind comment.

Judy Ball October 25, 2021 at 4:59 PM Oh WoW! Been there and done that. When I was a kid we used to watch the trains and wave at the engineers. Never gave a thought to where they were going but we all thought the engineers were rich men with their fine jobs on the train. Good stuff. God Bless, JB L Milton Hankins October 25, 2021 at 7:33 PM Thanks, JB. Things are so different now. When I was a kid I used to dream of riding a train somewhere...anywhere. It was so exotic!