bridge collapses into water in the night


the Key bridge collapses

I don’t like
heights
and this is not about me

a big ship struck the tall bridge
in the night
and the bridge fell into
deep and
dark water

the vehicles upon
the bridge
with
all the people inside
those on the ship as well

there is a “debris field”
that we can see
on the news

an iron wreck upon the water
stone pillars standing
monsters folded
cringing
on the water
and to either side
as if
wishing for the comfort
of the shore
and land

the rescuiers
look for vehicles
in water
and those we must call victims
inside cars
or trucks
underneath

it is a tall bridge
the Chesapeake’s involved
subservient
to ocean tides
that complicate
the work

collision
fire

rescues
officially from agencies
many groups
to save
or simply find
whose jobs are tested now
as if they faced
and go inside
the water as a maw
the bridge the broken teeth
inside the mouth
of Neptune
or of hell

the official word
stay out of Baltimore
today

bridge named
we know
for the writer of our freedom song
the one so difficult
to sing
at ball games

caught in the throat today
while half-
formed prayers try
to work their way
out into the darkness
‘til the sun start rising
over Baltimore

as is happening
outside my window
to the north

it’s important
like the Whitman
like
the Verrazzano
an artery not unlike
the Golden Gate
and we may suppose
precipitously
suppose
it shall be raised again
the Key
like the ensign of the nation
flew at sunrise
over the fort
in the first verse

but the wreck is hours’
old just now
and they are looking
and withdrawing from the water
who
and what might be found
by sonar and
all the limbs
so many arms and legs
reaching down
to grasp
flesh and metal
what is left of life
to retrieve

while the rest of us are learning
via screens
with views
of people ‘round a central
microphone
telling what they can tell

processing
feeling
there they deal with trauma
on the scene
over the widening scene
and radiating outward
over hours
over time as it works its way
in rings throughout the region
and the world
so fast things move
and we react

trauma works its way
requiring
dealing
everything we feel
and can’t let go of
and for now
we shouldn’t

we’ll bury
we’ll blame
we’ll fix
it will get better
while some things will always
remain broken
over water
underneath
inside the blood
so many hurt
from this
so many watching
hearing

and this is rough
learning
for it’s new
and awful
what has happened
and how it matters to us
with all the rest
that’s happening

it matters greatly
because something great
is lost for now
in tragedy
so many lives affected
wounds throughout mortality
in its time
the hope
to heal


c l couch


An image of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore. Taken in Fort Armistead Park.
Patorjk - own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=41035194