Sunday, April 12, 2020

NPM 2020 - Covered Bridges

When I was growing up my parents took me to Washington, DC  several years in a row during spring break to visit my sister. On the way, we took side trips to national parks, antique shops, and roadside attractions. One year we mapped out a route that had us visiting numerous covered bridges in Pennsylvania and Maryland.
Utica Mills Covered Bridge, Frederick County, MD
April, 1980

after a while
they all looked alike
narrow and rickety
stretching over creeks and streams
but crossing each one was
an adventure

dad drove slowly across
the single lane bridge
while we nervously held
a collective breath
as the timbers groaned
and tires thumped

the car felt too big
the bridge too small
I could almost stretch
my hand through the window
and touch the passing beams

once safely on the other side
we stopped to celebrate
snap a picture
marvel at the engineering
before unfolding the map
and plotting our course 
to the next covered bridge

Poem ©Tricia Stohr-Hunt, 2020. All rights reserved.


That's it for today. I hope you'll join me again tomorrow.

2 comments:

  1. I enjoyed reading your poem, Tricia! I have been fascinated by bridges. They are quite the feat of engineering.

    I will share your post on Twitter. I'm @cendrinemedia there.

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  2. How lovely - I would be terrified to DRIVE on them, but they're pretty to look at.

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