by Matthew Murrey
People build them to connect
one side to the other, to move
people, supplies and food
from here to there, to shorten
the journey and make it easier
to cross over a river or a bay
or a deep, precipitous gorge.
People construct rooms and roofs
so doctors wearing green or blue
can focus on the work at hand,
so teachers can greet children
carrying books and backpacks,
so exhausted parents can settle
into bed after turning off the lights.
People also make cunning machines
and devices. From up in the sky
they can see what hugs the ground:
buildings standing exposed, unable
to move, and bridges lying flat
out in the open, left to the mercies
of whoever is looking down from above.
Matthew Murrey is the author of Little Joy (Cornerstone Press, 2026) and Bulletproof (Jacar Press, 2019). He can be found on Bluesky and Instagram under the handle @mytwords.
one side to the other, to move
people, supplies and food
from here to there, to shorten
the journey and make it easier
to cross over a river or a bay
or a deep, precipitous gorge.
People construct rooms and roofs
so doctors wearing green or blue
can focus on the work at hand,
so teachers can greet children
carrying books and backpacks,
so exhausted parents can settle
into bed after turning off the lights.
People also make cunning machines
and devices. From up in the sky
they can see what hugs the ground:
buildings standing exposed, unable
to move, and bridges lying flat
out in the open, left to the mercies
of whoever is looking down from above.
Matthew Murrey is the author of Little Joy (Cornerstone Press, 2026) and Bulletproof (Jacar Press, 2019). He can be found on Bluesky and Instagram under the handle @mytwords.
