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The Covered Bridge

I was there to find serenity The white noise of nature Without retreat I knew this battle would soon be lost The Covered Bridge The snap of a twig, brittle leaves underfoot Little feet scurry from this stranger’s path I am ducking low, pushing branches aside I am making my way toward the river I have heard of this place, but I’ve never been Deep in the valley, all the browns and greens An old covered bridge that exists without cause It doesn’t make sense, yet I need to believe The hunger of noon has found me at ten My naked feet soak at the rivers edge I have rested enough; it’s time to move on I will trek upstream and around the bend I cannot believe, this nature untouched A virgin valley, so steep and so high No roads to be seen or pathways to walk Yet, a covered bridge, I romanticize The rusted red wood, among the natural hue With an old shingled roof in need of repair My stomach rumbled as the sky opened up Sprinting for shelter, when splintering blared It looks like a barn, with stable like sides The middle has sagged, yet accepted in time As the rain came down on the roof of this bridge In ran the woman: for years, I would live We came to return; 20 years had past But to our surprise, they had built a dam So happy are we that we became lovers Yet, so sad That our covered bridge Has been covered © 2017 Jeffrey Spencer