Lantern-Mended Bridge

**The Bridge-Keepers** *(A mythic folk tale for Echoes of Clannad)* In a valley ringed with silver stone A king raised walls against the unknown Mortared with certainty, stacked to the sky "Nothing unwanted shall ever pass by" The masons cheered as the towers grew tall The shadows grew longer along the wall And the king slept well by his firelight flame Certain tomorrow would look the same --- Beyond the hills where the wild geese flew An old road wandered where few folk knew A traveler came to a broken way Where floods had carried the stones away He sat by the river and cursed his fate Till an old woman arrived quite late She carried no crown and she carried no sword Only a lantern and a weathered board She laid it gently from bank to bank And smiled as the traveler crossed the plank --- In the kingdom's heart stood an iron gate Locked every evening at an early hour and date "No stranger enters," the watchmen cried As the winter winds gathered outside A child climbed up to the lantern tower And lit one candle through the darkest hour Then another, and another, till the hillside glowed Marking the path where the lost could go The watchmen grumbled, the child just smiled And followed the light for a little while --- Years rolled onward like rivers to sea The kingdom remained where it used to be But the roads beyond it twisted and turned And maps once trusted grew weathered and burned The walls stood proud, the walls stood high Yet fewer travelers passed them by For paths seek valleys and rivers bend And every journey asks where roads extend --- Far beyond the gate where the old maps ceased Bridge-keepers gathered from west to east One brought stories, one brought rope One brought laughter, one carried hope One knew rivers and one knew trees One read stars upon the breeze One knew songs that eased the climb One knew patience and the gift of time None wore armor bright and grand Yet people crossed where they chose to stand --- A spring flood came with a roaring sound Carrying towers into the ground The walls resisted, the walls gave way Stone by stone they were swept away When the waters settled and dawn returned The kingdom searched for lessons learned There upon the river, weathered but true Stood a wooden bridge the villagers knew Built by hands no one could name Still doing quietly what it always came to do --- Now travelers tell by firelight glow Of kingdoms forgotten long ago Of gates and towers claimed by earth And all the pride that measured worth Yet every tale still seems to find The bridge left standing behind Not because it conquered Not because it won But because it helped another Reach what lay beyond --- And somewhere beyond the last hill's rise Where road meets dawn and earth meets skies A lantern burns beside a stream Waiting for the next traveler To continue the dream