Inspiration:

A bridge is a powerful metaphor, and when you start looking for bridges in poems, you find them everywhere. Your poem could be about a real bridge or an imaginary or ideal bridge. It could be one you cross every day, or one that simply seems to stand for something larger – for the idea of connection or distance, for the idea of movement and travel and new horizons.

First lines:

  • My life is a bridge.
  • I am a bridge.
  • I am the Golden Gate Bridge.
  • I am a thousand-year-old bridge.

The body of the poem is parts of a bridge:

  • Abutment is the end of the bridge that provides support — so what or who is your abutment?
  • Arch is the curved structure that spans the open space and eliminates tensile stresses — so who or what are the curves of your life that eliminate stress?
  • Beams are the structure that resists loads applied to its axis, responds to forces by bending in reaction to its supports points — who or what helps you to be flexible?
  • Deck is the roadway or surface of the bridge that allows vehicles to pass; they are made of concrete, steel, wood, or a grating system.  What places or ideas in your life does your deck connect? What is at the end of the bridge for you — a goal?

Other ideas:

Are you feeling trapped or restricted? Write from the point of view of a box or jail cell.

Are you feeling happy and positive? Wite from the point of view of a feather, cloud, bird, air.

Are feeling tired, lacking energy to be active? Write from the point of view of a flower that is trying to bloom, a tree with branches not quite budding, a turtle who does not come out if its shell.

You get the idea, yes?

SEARCH FOR AN IMAGE TO INSPIRE YOUR EXTENDED METAPHOR POEM

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