4:32 AM: Police respond to reports of individual on the Mt. Hope Bridge. Individual is taken into custody for their own safety.

It's not so hard to sit on the bridge
legs adangle in the oncoming - safe as an iceberg
bare skin prickled in the fog

when, like those thrilled words,
a gesture reverberates, ripples away
legs adangle, safe as an iceberg

without tethering the world, play
of the fainting sun on water
a gesture reverberates, ripples away

the bay is a sister, the bridge a father
a ribcage - faintly shuddering, menace
of this fainting sun on water

where right angles and aching skin, then is
a nothingness above another nothing?
a ribcage - faintly shuddering, menace

why does a body plummet, break, or sing?
it's not so easy to stay on a bridge
a nothingness above another nothing
bare skin prickling in fog

George Briggs is a high school teacher from Rhode Island. His writing has appeared in The Mystic Blue Review, Isacoustic*, and Sportsalcohol.com.