The title of the poem was inspired by the Brooklyn Bridge and that then-contemporary monument to the symbolic greatness of America commences this work which is comprised of fifteen different poems carved into eight different sections.
“Proem: To the Brooklyn Bridge” is not a typo; it is actually titled “Proem” and as the poet gazes upon the truly majestic structure connecting two boroughs of New York City, he muses upon both the brilliance of its prosaic purpose while also being intensely aware that is the perfect contemporary symbol for the very disorder it was designed to alleviate. The Brooklyn Bridge is a modern marvel, to be sure, but by virtue of its very necessity it is also a constant reminder of the increasing chaotic, disconnected, disorganized and seemingly purposeless existence to which it can give but small and temporary order.
Part I concludes with “Ave Maria” in which the reader is reminded that Columbus—the explorer who “discovered America” did so entirely by accident, thus connecting his voyages to the Brooklyn Bridge as a thematic commentary on attempts to impose order on chaos through science..
The next section is made up of five different poems collected under the umbrella title “Powhatan’s Daughter.” The titular character is perhaps better known to most readers as Pocahontas and with the legendary Indian princess, this section takes the reader down a boulevard of American history in poems that also touch upon Rip Van Winkle, the invention of the train and subway, hoboes and riverboats, frontier pioneers and sacred Native American rituals.
Part III is more narratively structured than the first two sections. Title “Cutty Sark” it is a poetic vision of New York City at night in the company of an inebriated seaman in which the imagery of Eden and the American frontier becomes muddle to the point of requiring more fuel for the process of inebriation.
“Cape Hatteras” is the name given to the fourth section of the poem. This is the point at which the author’s inspiration—Walt Whitman—is invoked by name. The section is an example of a very extended simile: the literal volcanic activity beneath the surface of the crust which created the Appalachian Mountains and in turn its culture formed by those who settled there is compared to the more figurative concept of volcanic activity of the human spirit and mind which gave rise to the artistic greatness of both machines like the airplane and literary genius like Whitman.
A section titled “Three Songs” follows in which the poet turns his attention to the role of women in the pageantry of history. Eve joins with the Virgin Mary and Mary Magdalene as well as Venus and return visit from Pocahontas to convey a portrait of love’s role in that pageant. If devoting the section to women focuses on love seems a bit less than progressive, give it time. It only gets worse as this section is also the most satirical and ironic.
Part VI moves closer to the traditional lyrical poetry focusing on nature, human endeavor and the inexorable intrusion into serenity of contemplation by the humdrum and ceaseless distractions of the business of living.
A significant tonal shift occurs as the quiet simplicity of the elegiac “Quaker Hill” section is shocked out of its lyrical placidity by Part VII: “The Tunnel.” The lightness of the preceding section disappears both figurative and literally in this much darker and almost disconsolate journey through the titular conveyance by means of a subway ride. The imagery is disjointed and uneasy, as if attempting to obstruct the natural tendency of a reader to link the hellish descent to Dante’s trip into the Inferno.
The Bridge ends with Part VIII, “Atlantis” returning the poet back to where he began. The bridge which now leads him from the chaos of his odyssey back home. By this time, however, the bridge has taken on new symbolic weight as it becomes the metaphorical bridge by which he returns home wiser and with the benefit of a greater conscious apprehension of things as they are which, in turn, affords greater hope for how things could be.
