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The Girl On the Bridge The air was stale with the smoke of many cigarettes and polluted by foul words spoken too loudly laughter that implied something was hilarious.... But the beer was cold. At least there was some compensation for the misery of that summer night. The two of them went to work on a long old argument, as if it would finally be the last of it and some solution might be found. One of them went to far. In a drunken moment she took off on a run. For a minute he just stood there, then yelled at her, "Get back here!" She turned to wave him off, fell in the graveled pavement, got up and ran again. He decided he'd bring her back. But his feet and his brain were not working together. He did his best as he gathered momentum to keep from running on all fours. Someone called a cop. The officer arrives to find them both running along the ditch. He secures his car and goes after them on foot. She finds herself in a situation. She will have to climb back up onto the roadway. She clings to the ground, clawing for someplace to pull herself up. He has almost reached her. He is yelling again. "Stop this foolishness! Get back here" but she tunes him out while she devises her plan. She made it up the embankment and turned to see him coming. She threatened to jump, he called her a drunk and reached to pull her hand. He was stupified at her words. "I'm a better swimer than you are- so catch me if you can!" And she dove off the bridge she had just climbed. The dry riverbed was unforgiving. She was 22, he is now 31. It took her 4 years to die. One day at a time he fed her, encouraged her. He helped her dress and did his best with her hair. It broke his spirit and her bones. He did his best to make her happy after that. She couldn't move, but she could think and her brain was always busy. She really loved him. He was doing so much for her. He brought her fresh flowers and read the dailey newspaper to her. He brought her toast with 'jelly faces' and they would both laugh. She loved him so much. If only...... No one will ever really know the truth about that night. He tried a thousand times to replay it , but the scene kept changing and in the end, he really wasn't sure anymore. |
Additional Notes:
True story, with added fiction....was listening to the police scanner one night and wrote as this scene unfolded....by the time EMS had taken her to the hospital and him to jail, I was in tears for these two. Don't really know the ending of the true story, so made one up to 'fit' the tragedy and to bring it to a close.
This Poem was Critiqued By: marilyn terwilleger On Date: 2007-01-22 17:29:06
Critiquer Rating During Critique: 10.00000
Hi Ellen....this is such a sad tale and the fact that it is true is even more sad. I think you did an excellent job of writing this and because you were so struck and saddened by it I know writing it could not have been easy. I did notice one typo..."one of them went (to) far"...should be 'too' unless there is a hidden meangin that I missed. Well done...thanks for posting this one.
Blessings...Marilyn