Recall the river flowing
Far far below the timid edge
Of chasm walls, above the falls
Where rainbows blink and salmon ******,
Chrysanthemums reflect the rust
Of iron struts that mark the ledge
Where once a bridge was growing

It sprouted forth and blooming
Stretched eager beams across the span
To tame the walls, above the falls
Where boats were tossed and men would heave
With weighted nets their women weave
To pass the lonely days -- So ran
Their lives with chores consuming

A tempest storm was brewing
And raged along the chasm ridge
To smash the walls above the falls,
Upheaving trees and hurling rocks
To bend and break the cinder blocks
And girders of the iron bridge,
It's vengeance wrought undoing

The damaged bridge was bending,
It's proud commanding arch detached
To strike the walls above the falls,
The roadway and the pavement went
To spiral down in swift descent
Into the torrent flow -- Unmatched
Destruction brought it's ending

Proud men lament the falling
And mark the day each solemn year
Beneath the walls -- Above the falls
Foundations lay beneath the stone
And ever will remain at home
For those with hearts to see -- No fear
Should halt the brave recalling

Of elder days when rowing
Beneath majestic fashioned beams
That spanned the walls above the falls,
Emotions streaming like the flow
Of swirling waters far below
The mighty bridge -- Distant it seems,
Yet near to those still knowing