burning bridges

to build a bridge, decided a man
so he did tinker and plan
for this was to be the greatest bridge in the land

many a friend offered to help
alas, he pushed them away
for this was a stubborn man
with what he thought a master-plan

the days went by
and the years rolled on
but our chief engineer only trudged along

then one day, disaster struck
a bolt of lightning crashed into the bridge
and set fire to the monstrosity in the midst of night
a searing wall of flame that was quite a sight

the bridge, weakened and brittle
crashed into the waves beneath
and was swallowed by the sea little by little

our engineer was left stranded on an island
for he had stood at the wrong end of his link to the town
an unfortunate turn of luck for the stubborn man
who had failed to bring a backup plan

now all alone the man sat down on the grassy knoll
which was neither greener nor softer than it was at home
he watched the sun set beneath the hills
and realised that he had no way of paying his bills