I am safely suspended 

between the tensions of 

grief and gratitude—

Standing upon

A bridge

              Built 

To hold 

The reality 

Of 

being human. 

I am vulnerably stable 

                  As I stand 

Wondering 

About

And 

Wandering 

To

The medal planks 

Laid out ahead of me. 

So, 

I walk upon 

A bridge 

             Built 

To capture 

The magnitude of 

strength 

Running through 

the wires of 

Sorrow 

Alongside the 

Pillars of 

Joy.

Here, 

I am securely fearful 

Of all that is 

Behind 

           Beneath 

And 

                             Before me, 

As I stand 

At the mercy 

Of faith guiding me

Onward. 

 I walk slowly: 

A patient urgency. 

One must 

Move forward. 

… 

One must also 

Stop. 

To breathe. 

To see. 

To listen. 

So, 

I pause upon

A bridge 

              Built 

To hold me, 

All of me,  

Every ounce of me 

That exists 

Beyond and within 

The joy and the sorrow 

The grief and the gratitude. 

All of me 

Is here—

The anger 

The shame 

The frustration 

The confusion 

The peace 

All of me 

Is safely suspended 

Upon 

This paradoxical 

Piece of iron— 

Making no sense 

And needing no sense 

To make.  

I am held 

And that is all 

That any fragile 

Being 

Needs