At the Footbridge

At the footbridge I stare in dismal despair As the chasm beneath it shrieks With its jaws open wide, I must swallow my pride Set across to that fair distant peak But, with its slats and its lats and high flying bats This is not such a treat for the eyes Frayed ropes, how absurd, with the sound of a bird Mocking me with its dismal cries It's a flaky, fickle, menacing path With a threat every step of the way My heart flutters and pounds, as I think of the ground Then the span starts a giddying sway Just a wriggly, wobbly, rickety weave A thin line to prevent me from doom A shifty, shaky, dizzying bridge Above the drop to that valley of gloom But beyond this folly, there's a glimmer of hope As the end of the nightmare is nigh There's friendship, peace, fire and warmth So I begin with a step and a sigh All becomes steady, all becomes clear As my tread lends strength to the route There's beauty so green and a feeling serene Springing up through each stride of my boot Then, no sooner begun, then the journey is done I breathe a grateful prayer to the skies With the fear left behind, I open my mind And there ahead...is my prize