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 your 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 this bridge at evening tide?”
The builder lifted his old gray head;
“Good friend, in the path I have come,” he said,
“There followed after me to-day
A youth whose feet must pass this way.
This chasm that has been as 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!”
Though old in language and verse, this poem contains some life wisdom. In this poem, the old man did not struggle with the obstacle in his path. Life had equipped him to deal with such things. However, once he conquered it, he considered the person who would have to travel the same path. You are not alone in your pursuits. Many of our trials in life are similar. Experience, no matter the age, teaches us a better way. Take the time to help. It can be as small as entending wisdom or encouragement or fully involved help as the man in this poem. As you go out this week, take time to think of who may encounter your same trials. If there is any good that you can do for them, take the time to build a bridge.
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