Building Fences

“Good fences make good neighbors.”

Stone by stone
the wall appears
out of the field,
out of the soil,
out of nowhere.

Balanced carefully
between the fear of loss
and the fear of what might get in,
this boundary serves you well—
guarding everything,
prepared for anything.

It is beautiful
the way it stands
solidly in its place,
lips tight
and righteously correctly
in the firm border it creates
near the fertile earth
that might be the garden
that feeds the belly and soul—
surrounding the open field,
a meadow who opens herself
to the light of dawn
and the brilliance of a billion stars
at midnight waiting for the birth
of another full moon.

In a century from now
when red squirrels climb through
the bones of this place,
no one will remember
the need to build a false prison
for hearts and minds
so close to freedom.
This headstone of nothing
will stand as a poem
that has forgotten
how to sing.