Spider-steel

a cable-stayed climbing wall

for dreamworks heroes,

you document

the passing of an era.

An unclosed gap

soon to shut down its past

          trawls the dark water.

Below us, working harbour sites

dissolve into the distance,

a Whiteley speed-boat

unfurls its backwash

          into Johnstone's Bay.

          *

Bats halo round the light

on Anzac Bridge

looking for insects,

like seagulls in the wake

of container ships,

          caught in its shining web.

Nearby

historic Glebe Island Bridge

is rotting, timber fenders

on both sides of the swing-bridge

          near collapse.

- after Closing of the gap, 1995, Jane Bennett

© Margaret Bradstock

From here I see concrete forks

tune the cobalt sky to perfect pitch

From here I see taut steel ropes

stringing heaven’s harp

I hum in unison with the wind

and could sprout feathered wings

Like Icarus I watch with eagle eyes

but must be careful of the sun

Up here I am godlike

a puppet master pulling strings

Look down – vertigo – panic

I want no place in that microcosm

below, a working harbour

Where a weary bridge opens a gap

to boats but soon it will be gone

Instead, streamers of cars

uninterrupted, will ribbon back and forth

A million comings and goings

day after dreary night after dreary day

It is inevitable that I will descend

to brooding reality closing the gap

- after Closing of the Gap, 1995, Jane Bennett

© Sheryl Persson