I have the privilege of driving past the North Bridge every morning on my way to work. Commuting from Chelmsford to Bedford and taking all backroads to avoid traffic, I have probably the most scenic commute in eastern Massachusetts. If you are visiting New England, make sure you check out the Concord/Lexington area as there are many monuments and parks commemorating the revolution.
Visiting the bridge and the monument there are the highlight of my infrequent visits to Boston. It is difficult not to feel that the people of Massachusetts are unworthy of their ancestors.
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Sung at the Completion of the Concord Monument, July 4, 1837
By the rude bridge that arched the flood,
Their flag to April's breeze unfurled,
Here once the embattled farmers stood
And fired the shot heard round the world.
The foe long since in silence slept;
Alike the conqueror silent sleeps;
And Time the ruined bridge has swept
Down the dark stream which seaward creeps.
On this green bank, by this soft stream,
We set to-day a votive stone;
That memory may their deed redeem,
When, like our sires, our sons are gone.
Spirit, that made those heroes dare
To die, or leave their children free,
Bid Time and Nature gently spare
The shaft we raise to them and thee.
Ralph Waldo Emerson