Another New England Wall

Downward deep these rocks would drive
into darkness if the soil would let them;
but this practical New England ground 
knows what it's doing. Walls would be no use below;
stone and stick, trash and clay, 
and sand must all sustain them. They
are needed here above, not only to delineate
but to remind each walker and each driver by
of what the bones of earth personify:
the weight of patience,
the burden of belief in fortitude,
and like the lichen slowly flowering across their faces, 
the irresistible advance of glacial time's
long journey toward redemption.

October 28 2011