BRIDGE

To bridge is defined as "a structure carrying a road, path, railroad, or canal across a river, ravine, railroad, or other obstacle," or "something that is intended to reconcile or form a connection between to things."  Although bridge as a noun is a physical piece of civic engineering, when I hear the word bridge, I think of it as an act of bridging or connecting and closing a gap between two things and thus connecting or joining them together.

Bridging, either physically or metaphorically, is an act of bringing ideas, things, places, and people together.  Without bridges, we wouldn't be able to get to the other side of many places or things.  Building bridges between ourselves and other people are what allow us to create long-lasting, fulfilling relationships.  The figure of speech "burn(ing) the bridge" has come to mean the act of cutting off all ties to someone or something, often completely ending a relationship.  We often must make choices whether to build or burn a bridge, to cross them or to leave them uncrossed, with people we care about in our lives; these personal bridges either grow us or stifle us.  These bridges may be very delicate unlike their literal steel-framed brethren and can topple at the softest breech, like petals.

A poem came to mind by Shel Silverstein, "This Bridge."

This bridge will only take you halfway there
To those mysterious lands you long to see:
Through gypsy camps and swirling Arab fairs
And moonlit woods where unicorns run free.
So come and walk awhile with me and share
The twisting trails and wondrous worlds I've known.
But this bridge will only take you halfway there--
The last few steps you'll have to take alone.