ALEX FORMENTON
BRIDGE TOO FAR MAYBE THIS ONE
SOME FANS SAY ARE DONE
The bridge
to the future
a song
Living in the past
can only last
~ So long
author's note: We don't have covered bridges in Texas. I can still remember seeing my first one while living and working in Indiana. I was awestruck, in love with the nostagia associated with these historic structure.
It arches like memory~
wood darkened by rain,
each plank carrying
some half-forgotten syllable
from a century
that didn’t hurry.
Step inside
and the air changes.
Light slips through the slats
in uneven stripes,
and your footsteps answer back
as though the bridge
has been waiting
to hear them again.
Outside, the river keeps moving,
unimpressed by nostalgia.
But within the span,
something lingers~
a quiet craft,
a kind of shelter
that feels borrowed
from another life.
Every covered bridge
is a held breath,
a pause between
where you were
and where you think
you’re going~
a place where history
doesn’t mind
being crossed slowly.
They’ve built bridges
wanting to cross them
to conquer the other side
where the grass is greener.
They want what they can’t see
and will go to great lengths
to lay claim to the other side
where the sky is ever bluer.
Men’s dreams entice them
to reach out to distant shores
convinced what lies beyond
is infallibly better.
AP: 2nd place 2026
We often try to retrofit
The remnants of a bridge that burned
In fires that we never lit
With scaffolding of lessons learned
But if we are the only one
To put in work to reattach
We may find — when work is done —
The arsonist still holds that match
7/22/2026
Written for the Mend the Fence or Burn the Bridges Contest
Beneath the Rainbow Bridge, my little kitten
Washes away her butler’s tears.
You were a tiny kitten resting in the palm of my hand—
A fragile heartbeat, a flickering breath.
And then,
A soft rainbow light subtly leaked through.
I held you in my arms and pleaded:
“Don’t cross the Rainbow Bridge.”
“It’s nothing but a foolish dream, a sweet illusion.”
The little kitten faintly whispered back:
“No...”
“Even so, I still want to taste that sweet illusion.”
The moonlight pouring through the window—
The windowsill trembles in the wind.
At dawn,
Your eyes were already closed,
Your tiny body cold as ice.
Within that warmthless presence,
I face your death and my own grief.
Your trembling final breath pierced deep into my heart,
And in that single moment, my entire life was shaken.
A faint imprint on your tiny paw pad speaks:
“I want to walk. I want to eat my fill.”
“I want to meet good friends and run together.”
“And sometimes, I just want to lie wrapped in my butler’s arms forever.”
I take a drag from my cigarette.
The smoke remains trapped, lingering motionless in my room.
Over the Rainbow Bridge,
I gaze upon you as you pass away.
You, who are departing,
You, whom my hands can no longer reach.
Your death is grander than a first love,
And my sorrow is fiercer than an unrequited one.
“Goodbye, my baby.”
In your pain, you feel the beat of my heart,
Receiving my tears inside of yours.
In the end,
Your very last breath
Departs, embracing me.
“My sweet cat,
When I open the gate at the doors of Heaven,
You must come out to greet me.
Promise me. All right?”
Inside the storm clouds that seem to pierce a thousand years,
It finally swallows me whole.
At that instant, the light of the Rainbow Bridge
Blazes like a flame,
Consuming me into its light.
At last,
When I open the gate,
I meet you at the edge of the Rainbow Bridge.
The black mark under your nose, your trembling body—
Everything remains just as it was.
“Hello, Maru.”
You melt into my arms,
And I hold you close.
Through a silent gaze,
We reaffirm through each other's existence
That long wait and the agony of parting.
And then, we know.
Whether departing or leaving behind,
In the end, we shall meet again.
Sun sets over bridge
Trees whisper in summer breeze
Golden memories.
beneath a tranquil, turquoise sky,
a jeweled bridge drifts into view~
delicate, dream-bright,
a portal of quiet magic
daring the dusk
to draw nearer
Let your words build bridges.
AP: 2nd place 2026
a broad tessitura
-------------------------
-------------------------
Si, oh mi amante, a quien le gusta follarme.
Auh to as to this
might love keep us together
anything isCualquier otra cosa es inaceptable.
Mi your gaurdia Sin ser amado y sin recibir amor a cambio.
I sang a Canté una canción triste por tu falta de interés;
canté una canción triste porque no me querías;
mi anhelo parece indiferente.
Entonces reconsideraste tu naturaleza reservada
para ser mi amante, con un repentino interés.
Cariño, nunca me dejes;
que jamás nos separemos;
no me dejes con el corazón roto
No sé por qué
No sé por qué
Cariño, no sé por qué
Música, música
A ella le encanta la música
Me encanta la música contigo
--------------------------------------------------
Una canción para una cantante con reputación.(feminine)
Una canción para un cantante con reputación.(masculine)
a foot bridge or culvert
Through walls of glass, the
naked daylight streams,
Exposing rooms where quiet
shadows rest.
Two lonely souls trapped in
forgotten dreams,
Each locked inside a cold,
separate nest.
The crystal palace lets the
world look in,
Yet blocks the warmth of
any healing word,
Beneath one roof, the
distance starts to win,
Their silent grief remains
unseen, and unheard.
The husband watches night
fall from his bed,
The wife lies staring at the
ceiling high,
The tender language of their
past is dead,
Replaced by echoes of a
heavy sigh.
This fragile fortress offers no
defense,
Where transparent walls
build a fortress wall,
The love they harbored,
once so deep and dense,
Now shatters softly as the
dark hours fall.
I enter with the hope
of feeling your golden arches.
Built by so many hands,
so many years ago.
I feel the sway
of the bridge
As i look into
the river below.
Watching it flow into Kentucky.
Fascinated at how such a bridge
can hold so much weight,
sway and not collapse.
And how i put so much trust
into nameless faces,
and a foundation that
never touches land
iris diffuse
colour irrelevant
silver slivers radialize
as dark emotions pass
light cadences
kaleidoscope
eyes remain core's mirrors
refracts every rainbow facet
ascending prisms delight
iris is bridge
___________________
Third Placement: Standard
Sponsor: Sotto Poet
June 26
a quiet crescent of wood
leans into the drifting dusk,
guides footsteps toward stillness~
holding night’s soft peace
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