The Iron Bridge Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis
Rhyme Scheme: ABCDEFG HGHIJJKLJMNO EPQRPBS TUAVJW XUYZ JA2ZB2C2J| I am standing on a disused iron bridge | A |
| that was erected in | B |
| according to the iron plaque bolted into a beam | C |
| the year my mother turned one | D |
| Imagine a mother in her infancy | E |
| and she was a Canadian infant at that | F |
| one of the great infants of the province of Ontario | G |
| - | |
| But here I am leaning on the rusted railing | H |
| looking at the water below | G |
| which is flat and reflective this morning | H |
| sky blue and streaked with high clouds | I |
| and the more I look at the water | J |
| which is like a talking picture | J |
| the more I think of | K |
| when workmen in shirts and caps | L |
| riveted this iron bridge together | J |
| across a thin channel joining two lakes | M |
| where wildflowers blow along the shore now | N |
| and pairs of swans float in the leafy coves | O |
| - | |
| my mother was so tiny | E |
| she could have fit into one of those oval | P |
| baskets for holding apples | Q |
| which her mother could have lined with a soft cloth | R |
| and placed on the kitchen table | P |
| so she could keep an eye on infant Katherine | B |
| while she scrubbed potatoes or shelled a bag of peas | S |
| - | |
| the way I am keeping an eye on that cormorant | T |
| who just broke the glassy surface | U |
| and is moving away from me and the iron bridge | A |
| swiveling his curious head | V |
| slipping out to where the sun rakes the water | J |
| and filters through the trees that crowd the shore | W |
| - | |
| And now he dives | X |
| disappears below the surface | U |
| and while I wait for him to pop up | Y |
| I picture him flying underwater with his strange wings | Z |
| - | |
| as I picture you my tiny mother | J |
| who disappeared last year | A2 |
| flying somewhere with your strange wings | Z |
| your wide eyes and your heavy wet dress | B2 |
| kicking deeper down into a lake | C2 |
| with no end or name some boundless province of water | J |
Billy Collins
(1)
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About The Iron Bridge
The Iron Bridge is a poem by Billy Collins. This page includes the poem text, poet information, related topics, comments, and similar poems.
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