The Bridge Builder

By Michael Avery

Giving is not limited to holidays and birthdays. Every moment arrives with a potential opportunity to serve life and give from the heart. Some, as this short parable demonstrates, are willing to go the extra mile for love.

The Bridge Builder

A stranger once passed through the Enchanted Forest carrying a burlap knapsack and a string of fish. He stopped at the edge of a treacherous gorge. In the distance, the snow-capped peaks of the Purple Mountains glistened in the sun. He gazed wistfully at the horizon, beyond which lay his homeland. Then, with a weary sigh, he forded the river where few others had crossed.

But once safe on that shore, he did a strange thing. He began building a bridge. The animals watched in fascination as he went about his task. When at last he had finished, he set off again for his cherished destination.

Before he’d gone far, however, an eagle landed on the bridge and called after him. “Your crossing was difficult,” he observed, “but you made it safely across. Why build a bridge now when it serves you no purpose?”

The man gave this answer: “I once met a child,” he replied, “a fisherman like myself. One day he will cross here as I have done. This chasm is deep and the river swift. It was difficult for me. At the time of his crossing his back will be crooked and his hair will be white. Out of love I’ve suspended this bridge for him. This bridge is for him and for the fishermen who follow.”

* from Porcupines at the Dance by Michael Harrington, pp. 55—56; based on the poem, The Bridge Builder, by Will Allen Dromgoole.