The Rope Bridge of Carrick-a-rede

Not quite a poem, but kind of.

There is a rope bridge at Carrick-a-rede

in Northern Ireland.

It connects a sheer, ungainly rock

to the main land.

It was put there by bygone fishermen

to lay their nets across the deep sea channel below

separating rock from land.

Today it is a tourist attraction,

visited by people from all over the world.

I tried to visit once but it was closed.

It is a bridge full of symbolism.

It is a modern-day lover's leap;

an Irish icon;

a bridging between two warring communities;

man's ingenious triumph over nature;

a test of mettle and vertigo.

For me however, it has a different meaning...

It symbolises rescue from a dangerous, barren place.

The bringing home of the lost sheep to the main land.

The bridge, though swaying in the wind,

stark, isolated among the elements,

far above the crashing waves below,

cold, scary and high,

is still the safest, and only passage home.

I hope to go back some day.

Reviews

[John]

I've crossed this bridge and it is scary. I like the casualness of this poem, as if it were just a first draft, a bridge linking communities, etc, but than you come to the payoff line. ... the only passage home, and it seems a far deeper piece after all.

[C.R.Turner]

Penned at around 6 in the morning after a long night, it's not bad!! Thanks for the review!

I'd love to cross it some day.