Summary

At dawn, the speaker watches a seagull take flight from the river and shed white foam as it ascends high above the Brooklyn Bridge. It flies in a smooth, unbroken arc and seems to disappear from view, as if it was a sailboat in the distance or a white piece of paper that gets put away inside a desk. The scene reminds the speaker of the flashing lights of a movie theatre. In the theatre, a crowd leans forward to catch the meaning of the story, but it is never fully revealed; the same film entrances audiences with the same message again and again.

The speaker addresses the bridge, silver across the river with rays of sunlight dancing upon it. The bridge is constantly in motion because of its suspension cables, but those same cables also hold it in place. The speaker then notices...