in the beginning
before the 1900’s even existed
this one guy made his wife mad and
built the cincinnati-covington bridge
massive stones and twisted steel
suspended
above a river, the ohio
built
with less steel and more intelligence
than any bridge built before 1870

row bling john row bling bling row
the bridgey bridge bling blings across the o-hi-o
suspended in the airy air
the river watering, rivering beneath
unobstructed

sin sin ati
always want to go to sin sin ati
row the moat berrily
beneath on the bling
the john row bling bridge

he left here around 1877
they heard about this lightweight big brain bridge
to the other side of the river

they invited him to new york
they stood him on the bank of the east river
where the barges and the ferries cross the east river
into Brooklyn

they said build a bridge john roebling
build a Brooklyn bridge

support columns plunged into deep water
under the eye of john roebling
men died in the heavy waters under the east river
john himself died of tetanus
of all things
another 50 years and he’s
an outpatient, doesn’t even see
a real doctor

his son Washington roebling
finished the Brooklyn bridge
after his dad had gone
to the other side
the row-bling-sloopy
sexy-sturdy bridge