Evocative and vivid, blending the "constructive truths of fact" with "transformative truths". Described by reviewers from The Wonder of Words

: After his children grow up and his wife passes away, he begins to build "strange" and beautiful bridges that serve no practical purpose—some are made of black iron lace with spiderwebs, while others are "mother of pearl" meant only to be crossed in moonlight.

The narrative follows a bridge builder and his three children: , Simon , and the youngest, Merlin . While his older children pursue practical careers as a doctor and an engineer, the father begins building fantastical, non-functional bridges after his wife passes away and his children are grown.

: The primary conflict is the struggle between what society deems "useful" and the intrinsic value of creative expression. While society demands functional roads, the protagonist views bridges as "connections that hold everything together".

I can’t provide or link to PDFs of copyrighted texts. I can, however, do one of the following concise options for "The Bridge Builder" by Margaret Mahy (or clarify if you meant a different author/poem):

: Mahy uses the motif of the bridge to represent the "transformation truths" of the imagination.