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Rainbow Bridge Poem

By the edge of a woods, at the foot of a hill,
Is a lush, green meadow where time stands still.
Where the friends of man and woman do run,
When their time on earth is over and done.

For here, between this world and the next,
Is a place where each beloved creature finds rest.
On this golden land, they wait and they play,
Till the Rainbow Bridge they cross over one day.

No more do they suffer, in pain or in sadness,
For here they are whole, their lives filled with gladness.
Their limbs are restored, their health renewed,
Their bodies have healed, with strength imbued.

They romp through the grass, without even a care,
Until one day they start, and sniff at the air.
All ears prick forward, eyes dart front and back,
Then all of a sudden, one breaks from the pack.

For just at that instant, their eyes have met;
Together again, both person and pet.
So they run to each other, these friends from long past,
The time of their parting is over at last.

The sadness they felt while they were apart,
Has turned into joy once more in each heart.
They embrace with a love that will last forever,
And then, side-by-side, they cross over together.

Analysis of the Poem

The Rainbow Bridge is the subject of several poems written in the 1980s and 1990s about an otherworldly place where pets go after death, eventually to be reconnected with their owners. One is a prose poem whose authorship is unknown.

The other is a six-stanza poem of rhyming pentameter couplets written by a couple to console friends who had lost pets. Each has gained popularity all over the world among animal lovers who have lost a pet or who care for wild animals. The belief has many antecedents, including parallels to Norse mythology’s Bifröst bridge.

Summary of the Poem

The poem narrates the story of a lush green meadow just “this side of Heaven” (i.e., before one enters it). Rainbow Bridge refers to both the meadow and the adjacent pan-prismatic conveyance that connects it to Heaven.

When a pet dies, it is taken to the meadow and restored to perfect health and free of any injuries, according to the story. The pet runs and plays with the others all day; there is always fresh food and water available, and the sun is always shining.

However, while the pet is at peace and content, it is said that it misses its owner, whom it left behind on Earth.

Who Wrote the Poem “Rainbow Bridge”?

That’s a good question. Apparently, four men claim to have written a version of the poem, according to some researchers. The poems are sometimes simply attributed to “unknown.” The poem is available in several versions.

However, the four men attributed with the authorship of the poem are:

Edna Clyne-Reky

An artist and author in Inverness, Scotland, who wrote the poem in the mid-seventies for her son on the loss of her dog.

Her son put the poem on the internet in later life. It is believed that she is the original author.[citation needed]

Paul C. Dahm

A grief counselor in Oregon, US, said to have written the poem in 1981 and published it in a 1998 book of the same name (1981, ISBN 0-9663022-0-6).

William N. Britton

Author of Legend of Rainbow Bridge (1994, ISBN 0-9645018-0-5)

Wallace Sife

Head of the Association for Pet Loss and Bereavement, whose poem “All Pets Go to Heaven” appears on the association’s website as well as in his book The Loss of a Pet.

Conclusion

Lesser Heaven, or the Rainbow Bridge, can be used in metaphysics and theology as a solution to the problem of animal suffering. The problem of animal suffering is an attempt to refute the Heaven Theodicy, which is in turn a response to the traditional problem of human suffering.