Chris on the Living Tree Root Bridge

Poetry Series #7 The Bridge Builder, by Will Allen Dromgoole

Chris on the Living Tree Root Bridge

The Bridge Builder

by Will Allen Dromgoole

An old man, going a lone highway,
Came, at the evening, cold and gray,
To a chasm, vast, and deep, and wide,
Through which was flowing a sullen tide.

The old man crossed in the twilight dim;
The sullen stream had no fear for him;
But he turned, when safe on the other side,
And built a bridge to span the tide.

“Old man,” said a fellow pilgrim, near,
“You are wasting strength with building here;
Your journey will end with the ending day;
You never again will pass this way;
You’ve crossed the chasm, deep and wide-
Why build you this bridge at the evening tide?”

The builder lifted his old gray head:
“Good friend, in the path I have come,” he said,
“There followeth after me today,
A youth, whose feet must pass this way.

This chasm, that has been naught to me,
To that fair-haired youth may a pitfall be.
He, too, must cross in the twilight dim;
Good friend, I am building this bridge for him.”


This poem really inspired me to think about building a legacy, and not just doing things for simple and personal pleasure. It got me thinking about how what I do can be an influence on people not just now, but for many years and hopefully even decades to come.  It makes you think about the bigger picture in life and how even as a single person, we can do something meaningful and inspiring, even if it as simple as building a bridge for the next person to pass through