THE RAILROAD BRIDGE
( a reflection of a young girls life now lived )
Tucked away, far away in time, was a memory I had almost forgotten..
It is a memory of a small town girl, living in a sleepy little community surrounded by hills and a river that made its way to places and sights yet on this fresh faced girls horizons.
She would walk through main street to the railroad tracks. From there she would walk on the tracks to the edge of town to the Railroad Bridge that crossed that river ..
Vivid memories take her back to the very place where she would dream and wonder where her young life would take her.. She had yet to realize that her adventure was about to begin and her wings were about to take her to places her finite mind could not comprehend ..
Alone with her heart on her sleeve, alone in her thoughts, as well as alone to breath in the beauty that only a small town girl could see and feel..
She'd walk the now abandon train tracks to the railroad bridge where she would carefully walk each plank between the rails to the next cement pillar in the middle of the River.
The smell of the tar pitched railroad ties still stains her memory with their scent ..
She would carefully begin to walk to the first cement pillar . She could see the raging river below through each railroad ties, leaving her feeling unsteady and a bit disoriented .
She wondered what she would do if she ever heard a train whistle in the distance or even more frightening, see a train coming. It was all part of the adventure, the thrill.
She was learning to be alone and the strength it gave her.
Somehow she would crawl and jump down onto the pillar below the tracks..
It was her sanctuary, her castle, fit for the adventurer she thought she was..
She would sit on the edge of pillar watching the river crash it's water as it made it's way around the bend ..
She would watch, with delight, the mud swallows darting in and
out of their hollowed out mud and stick nests, chirping loudly as if they were telling her she was not invited .. She would close her eyes to enhance the sweetness of it all .. The warm summer breeze brushed gently a crossed her sun kissed cheeks .. The fragrance of her surroundings still haunts her ..
One day she scratched their names deep in the weathered black painted beams for all of time and eternity..
She now wonders ... Has time erased the crude etching?
Time stood still during those younger years when life was so innocent, love felt so real .
Many years have passed now as quickly as the rivers water below that railroad bridge.
Still she can recall that young girl..
What would she tell her younger self about her life now lived?
Where did her life's journey take her?
She would tell that younger girl, that time did heal her broken heart.
She would tell her she made it through life much like the brave adventurer she alone thought she was.
That she crossed many bridges that were shaky and worn .
Bridges that were tested by storms from the raging waters below .
She will encounter not an easy life, but is now safe on the shore with probably more battles to encounter because her life is living proof she endured the storms..
Tell her she is braver than she thought she could ever be back then and that she faced life head on and joyously.
She, in fact, met her Prince Charming and they lived and are living a happy life.
After all that was said and done, she can raise a glass to toast herself, because they/she did amazing job raising a beautiful large family. Their children are all are doing well with families and lives of their own now.
She had a wonderful fulfilling livelihood she loved.
She touched and loved many lives on her path and was blessed by each one she came to know.
Yes, back then life was sweet, but as I see her sweet face in my mind, her older reflection is one of contentment, happiness and love.
It's been a journey that made her who she is today .
Patsy McNutt Morgan
Revised and rewritten
07/06/16
Patsy McNutt Morgan
