Friday, March 23, 2007

Walls



“Something there is that doesn’t love a wall.”

Maybe something like the slaves?
Without so much as a husking glove
they lugged the rock and stacked it dry
beneath Virginia’s ruthless sky.
But maybe skill like theirs is love:
the walls abide, unlike the graves.

Slave-built: a golden phrase
in Real Estate, a guarantee
the yuppies covet: money in the bank,
and no one ever stops to thank
the masons for their loving artistry;
we’re all equal nowadays.

That leaves us with the mounted lox
beleaguering a hapless fox
who dares a jump and takes a fall:
but even horses know a fool,
and one exception proves the rule:
everybody loves a wall.

3 comments:

Unknown said...

This is great Carver, I like how you've used Frost's rhythm and turned/tuned it around using different criteria. Very clever.

John said...

Thank you Cailleach. God, you're sharp...

Debi said...

She is, isn't she? Don't know who to be more impressed with ...