day/poem 20

-- bricking it on the bridge --

i can feel it, you know

while everyone else goes about their business

commuters power pumping, briefcases banging

joggers pounding trainers to tarmac

tourists snapping, young mothers yapping

while their kids scream and squall in the latest buggies

all springs and vorsprung durch technik

they know at least

we're doomed

i can feel it in the sway

in the give of supposedly solid ground

the easterly 'breeze' has destructive aspirations

this bridge means to take us down

it's worse on tower bridge

walking across that the first time

i figured i'd have to turn back

not even hollie mcnish could distract me

from the fact of my imminent death

from the fact that we were never meant to cross wide expanses

of water on flimsy paths cracked in the middle

from the fact that it's falls, not heights,

that are my problem

that will be the death of me

that will be the end of it all

i'm not over-reacting

i'm not imagining things

it's definitely not something i need to get over

getting over is definitely the problem

let's not span the gap

how's about we all just learn to love ferries

or get us some dinghies

and learn to row

it's not foolish, it's not a phobia

it's not all in my mind

walking over bridges

is bad for my health