Draft in the author’s style. This poem was written for Poet of Uplift to sit beside the author’s own readings, and is waiting for the author’s review. The commentary is a working draft too.
There is a gap between the life I have and the life I seek,
And it looks like a canyon wide with a river dark and bleak.
I stand upon the edge of it, with my toes against the stone,
And I think of all the reasons I should leave the dream alone.
But I remember bridges are not built in a single day,
They start with a single plank, and a hammer, and a way.
So I lay down my first board, and I nail it with a prayer,
And I lay another after it, and another, with care.
The wind blows through the planks, and the river roars below,
But the bridge is growing forward, and I do not need to know.
For every dream is crossable when built with patient hands,
And the far side of the canyon is a promised, waiting land.
Poet of Uplift · Hear it on the channel ↗
Commentary
The gap between where you are and where you want to be looks impossible. This poem builds a bridge across it one plank at a time.
“There is a gap between the life I have and the life I seek,” which “looks like a canyon wide with a river dark and bleak.” The speaker stands “upon the edge of it, with my toes against the stone,” tempted to “leave the dream alone.” But “bridges are not built in a single day.”
“They start with a single plank, and a hammer, and a way.” The speaker lays “down my first board” and “nail it with a prayer,” then another. “The wind blows through the planks,” but “the bridge is growing forward.” The poem ends, “every dream is crossable when built with patient hands.”