Good Fences

posts

of oak or cedar

dense wood

oily wood

when planted right

touch earth

barely enough

find strength

in their shallow depth

the rails

between the posts

are pliant yet resilient

connect

communicate

support the whole

against the pressure

from inside

from those without

and when the system

operates correctly

there is a simple order

almost elegant

that keeps the great sluggish

beasts who know no better

where they belong

hereford angus brangus

raised for meat

sheep in flocks bred

for lambs to slaughter or

for wool to sheer

wild horses

tamed for riding

and dressage

a kind of

contained freedom

in great fields

and meadows owned

by some

other

invisible

else

unfortunately

rabbits possums

skunks and squirrels

even foxes

scurry in and out

an

occasional

deer jumps over

songbirds of

every previously

imagined type perch

and watch

forage for seeds

before they fly on

hawks circle above

all small problems

the engineers and

programmers

are working

to resolve