On Burning Bridges

A 15-minute quick write during writer's group that turned out reasonably well. Some slight editing took place before posting.

There are many ways to burn a bridge, a different method fitting each particular place, time, and cast of actors.

One is the sort of burn that most think of when hearing this phrase – quick, dramatic, flush with oxygen, hot as a furnace. The stay cables don’t fray, but snap – cleanly, dramatically. The pop and ensuing reverberations can be heard for miles, causing passerby to stop and wonder what might have been the source of that awful noise. The platform of such a bridge collapses into the water, sending cars and bike-renting tourists careening into the icy depths below. Just as each piece of debris sends out ripples into the surrounding water, the collateral effects of this event will be discussed for much time to come. Those affected may move on, but will not forget it. No matter the cause of the burn, its engineers will spend many sleepless nights poring over their expired plans, searching for the errors in their calculations.

Next, there is the slow burn. It has no dramatic collapse. It throws a steady, gentle heat that only scalds if you cling too tightly to its fraying cables, or test its strength too long into the obsolescence. The reach of its damage is limited. It can be easily contained with proper preparation. Those whose lives are connected by it can simply stand back, with ample time and distance, and find another route. A slow burn may even have been a planned event, the blaze set and chummily looked upon with reflective nostalgia by its cast of architects and metalworkers. They exchange wistful, knowing greetings. Some stand arm in arm, others at an understandable distance. The pyre bathes their vibrant faces and sparkling eyes in soft orange, bringing them each into relief against the otherwise black backdrop of a moonless night. In their range of emotive states, these characters surely will remember that just as there are many ways to burn a bridge, there are many more to build one anew, and still unexplored wonders on the other side.