Erwin A. Thompson’s poem “Water Under the Bridge”

“Water Under the Bridge” is featured on WTTW Network Chicago’s River Stories. Listen to Pop read his poem “Water Under the Bridge,” sing “When the Rose Bloom Again” and reflect upon the sometimes bittersweet, but inevitable, passing of time by clicking on the red link below.–JGR

“What inspired me to write Water Under the Bridge? I recalled looking down at the water as we walked across the railroad bridge over Piasa Creek at Lock Haven in my schooldays.” –Erwin A. Thompson

WATER UNDER THE BRIDGE
by Erwin A. Thompson

When we were young and went to school,
(We walked two miles, each way.)
We sometimes dallied, goin’ home
At the closing of our day.

Stood on the bridge, and looking down
We watched the water, ever flowing.
Far beneath, and murky brown,
We wondered where it might be going?

More than half-a-century ago,
The world seemed bright and fair.
Little could we children know
Where we might go from there!

A lot of water’s flowed since then,
And changes tore our world apart.
The school’s been closed, the bridge is gone.
The past still lingers in my heart!

But there can be no turning backward,
No use to say what “might have been”.
Like the water, ever flowing,
Life goes onward, to the end.