I have recently won a writing competition. It is through the Twin Rivers Reading Council, of which I am a member. I have won for my writing in the past two years, as well. This year's theme was about "Bridges." I decided to write about the first thought that came to mind when I heard the topic. Here is the entry:
My Bridge
I have a bridge. It takes me home everyday. It is long and curved with paved sections that “boom-boom” as you cross over them. My memories begin to flood back like the wake of the water splashing underneath the stoic pillars bearing the weight of those coming and going.
My bridge spans the Straits leading into Core Sound separating Harkers Island from the mainland. My first trip over the bridge was when I was two days old. I wonder how my infantile brain processed the feelings of going home for the first time. My bridge was there to take me home. It has always stood to be the gateway onto my island.
When my sisters and I were little girls traveling home from a long trip we would count the sections of that same bridge until we hit the sandy earth of the Island. We would then shout happily “We on Ha-key Island, We on Ha-key Island.” It seemed silly, but we were intrinsically thrilled to be on the other side of the bridge, to be home.
That bridge has led me home with a full moon shining on the water below and when the sun has glistened off the sparkling saltwater I can taste on my lips. It has remained immovable in the strong winds of several hurricanes. Its guardrails have protected cars as they have skidded on slippery ice that has blanketed its sections. It has swung its middle spans to allow shrimp boats to slowly glide through on their way to catch the sustenance that would support their families. It has even been the place where fears have been abandoned as a few brave or fatuous kids have leapt from its edge into the deep channel below, fortunately into safety.
I love that bridge. John Denver loved his “Country Roads” that took him home, but my “country road” is a salt-washed bridge. It is my personal beacon that awaits me at the end of my long day. It allows me to leave the world of the mainland and enter the place I love: my island, my home.
