Walking the Brooklyn Bridge
There are two basic reasons
to walk across the Brooklyn Bridge.
The first is because it’s a beauty to behold
the breeze is cool at noon
the walkway is an urban pasture
the horizon bears a cathedral
the tower seem to lift you
the clouds gather at its spires
the stone embraces your soul
the cables sing whale songs
that tell you that you are its favorite.
And second is because it’s deep in the night
and the person with your money never came
and the fare for the subway is gone
and the walk is an hour to get there
and the sky is black and empty
and the air is damp and still
and the street lamps are sallow
and the fact is that only the old bridge
is willing to take you home.
Glenn Werner has been the featured reader at many Hudson Valley venues and has work published in Chronogram Magazine, Waywayanda Review, 4th Street, Snow Monkey, Heyday Magazine, Home Planet News, and A Clean Well-Lighted Place. He is host of the Poetry, BEACON open mic series at the Bank Square Coffeehouse in Beacon, NY.