While in Skagway, Alaska, we took a train ride up the mountain. One of the features of this stretch of track is a wooden bridge that leads into a mountain tunnel. Looking at it from afar, my heart began racing because of it's height and that fact that it appeared made of matchsticks. Obviously, the bridge held, and I was able to get this photo. As I listened to the guide's story of the train's origin, as a support for those prospecting for gold in the Yukon, and the bridge itself, I knew there was a poem in there somewhere. dreams of riches call
unprepared for wilderness
travelers perishing
gold rush to yukon–
train built for power and speed
men and provisions
the matchstick bridge—
angled and curved intricate
patterned triangles
built for endurance
ensuring safe passage through
last frontier landscape
miles above the sea
views of glacial waterfalls
pass between mountains
across steep chasms
feats of engineering hold
withstanding pressure
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