Distance Holds No Separation
I cross this wide river
every time I come to you.
And again, when I leave.
There is no other way,
~for distance holds no separation~
when I follow this course,
past and present become one.
I find consolation in that,
every time I cross this bridge.
A Puente, this poem is my response to Poetics: Build a Bridge, the prompt from Merril at dVerse ~ Poets Pub. The first and third stanzas of a puente convey a different element or feeling, but they have an equal number of lines, with that number being the writer’s choice. The one-line middle stanza, set off with a tilde (~) at each end, is the puente (Spanish for bridge). It functions as the ending for the last line of the first stanza AND as the beginning for the first line of the third stanza. Rhyme is optional.
Since moving to Missouri, I’ve made the trip back to New York to visit family many times. Being retired, I pretty much have an open calendar. My wife does not, so many times I’ve driven the round-trip solo. Each time, I cross the Mississippi River. The Stan Span (Stan Musial Veterans Memorial Bridge), named after St. Louis Cardinal baseball great Stan Musial, is on Interstate 70, one of the routes out of St. Louis.
~ Day 27 ~
I like the bridging line: for distance holds no separation. The travel across that bridge must be giving you impressive views of the city. Thanks for joining in.
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Thank you, Grace. The sight ahead is so captivating, that I’m not really sure about the view of the city. But now that I think about it, I’ll bet it’s quite a view at night. The Gateway Arch in St. Louis is illuminated, so that would be pretty impressive.
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Well-done, Ken. I like your bridging line, and these lines really spoke to me:
“past and present become one.
I find consolation in that . . .”
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Thank you, Merril. If only memories could be visited at will.
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This is lovely …. a puente love poem.
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Thank you. 🙂
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You did an excellent job Ken……I love how past and present come together when crossing the bridge!
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Thank you, Dwight. 🙂
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Nicely done, ken, a poem I can relate to.
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🙂 Thank you.
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I think I can see how much the journey means to you…sometimes I feel that distance is the same as time, and maybe going back is also traveling back in time in a way.
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You could be right. Quantum physics tells us that past, present, and future exist all at once.
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I’m sure you are together even when apart. (K)
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past or future
shared thoughts transport me
all are present
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time merges
layers integrate
whole, complete
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Such a beautiful photo! Beautiful poem to go with it!
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Thank you. That route actually takes an extra 5-10 minutes depending on traffic, but the sight is amazing. It would be awesome to stop on that bridge and soak it in, but it’s an Interstate.

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Thanks for the map to show where it is. Maybe you could pull over real early in the morning at dawn? The MO River ain’t no trifling thing is it?
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That might be nice, but it’s 3 – 4 lanes wide, with maybe a breakdown lane on the right.
This is probably the widest part of the Mississippi before it’s joined by the Ohio River 120 miles south of St. Louis.
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The prompt on bridges and Glenn’s poem yesterday had me watching youtubes of Mackinac Bridge. I saw one with drone video that totally blew my mind — there were a bunch of people walking at the top! I think they were painting it, but still…..
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The Macinac Bridge is amazing. Have you ever walked across it. I understand it’s closed for one day a year for just that purpose. Imagine that… an Interstate!
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I drove over it (almost) every time I went to visit my younger son when he was in U in the UP, but no, I never did the annual Labor Day Walk across it. I think they had to cancel it last year 😦 I wonder if you could get them to do that for your bridge? Just sayin…. 😉
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I can feel this as someone who has traveled all over while my husband was active duty Army. A great puente poem!
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🙂 Thank you, Tricia.
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Welcome 🌸
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I love how you use the form within itself – bridge – a wonderful Puente.
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Thank you, Paul.
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Very welcome Ken.
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