STONE SECRETS

In Ireland, long lines of
stone are placed end-to-end.
it's hard to say what they
were meant to be
-or portend.

The stonewalls climb
where no sheep can run,
like lines scribed on
hillsides of pure slate
-all for fun?

But who enjoys carrying
huge slabs of stone
and fitting them in place
on the steepest slopes
-if not to atone?

Perhaps it's all simpler,
and has to do with rocks,
and the pleasure that comes
with putting each atop
-so much like blocks.

As kids, we knew our blocks,
and built them higher as a test
we gleefully failed each time
gravity had its say
-but it was a quest.

Or maybe it's the mastering
of things difficult to move,
and this is why stones are
wedged in walls a mile-long
-it just behooves.



All written material © Bill Schechter, 2016
Contact Bill Schechter