Saturday, September 17, 2016


MENDING FENCE                

Up on the ladder this morning mending the garden fence, I couldn't help but hear, in the recesses of the idle mind that such labor kindly affords, the words of Robert Frost, who as a relative newbie couldn't quite grasp why fences were needed when there were no cows around, and when his neighbor had pine trees and he himself had apple trees, so as they went along mending the wall in his famous poem Frost kept bugging his neighbor about the need for the thing, but the taciturn fellow would only say that good fences make good neighbors. Which I suppose is true in Vermont, where some things are simpler.

In addition to the vague “something there is” and rabbit hunters, Frost made no mention of monkeys, and for good reason: some things are simpler in Vermont. Humans were the only animal problem in his equation, and unlike monkeys, humans at least know what fences imply, so Frost and his neighbor worked together, each on a side, to rebuild the wall between them-- Frost a bit mischievously, as befits a poet knowing that the builders of the fence are the reason for the fence.
  
Their shared fence was meant to status their own kind either in or out, and that's the whole of it. Simple. You can tell as you read the poem over and over that Frost and his noncommittal neighbor have had no acquaintance with the reasons I have my fence, why my fence is the way it is and why I mend it alone, up here on an early Spring morning that looks like rain. The ravaging creature in my equation does not know what fences are, so we do not work together, each on a side, repairing the portion that has fallen to each; the monkeys do not offer to assist in keeping themselves from my onions and turnips. Up here, good fences have nothing to do with humans.

In those regards I have the advantage over Frost and his neighbor, who view their wall in vague and questioned ways, as a fundamental structure stonily affirming the fellowship of distrust. There's no such factor in my equation, which is short and crystal clear, with no questions, no unknowns. I know what I'm walling in, and I know what I'm walling out.

To myself I say, as I go along mending: good fences make good deer and good wild pigs; there are no good monkeys.


                                                                                                    [from the archives, edited]

8 comments:

Tabor said...

My favorite poet. Nice archives piece. Hopefully you will be back out there setting boundaries for your unique neighbors soon.

Anonymous said...

Time to get down my book of Frost's poetry. As I get older I notice a change in my outlook or analysis of various poems and I believe that this may be one of those.

edward jones said...

For movie buffs it is fairly hard sometimes to locate a site to watch movies online without downloading them. For more ideal details about HD movies, pop over to these guys.

Satz said...

Hi Robert,

I would like to talk to you about this website, can you drop me a Hi to my email?

sherd123@yopmail.com

Thanks!

herbssolutionsbynature said...

Natural Remedies for Burning Mouth Syndrome may be a superior choice for a few, and these sorts of treatment regularly accompany scarcely any results, they can be utilized repeatedly to help How to Get Rid of Burning Mouth Syndrome at Home those with Burning Mouth Syndrome carry on with more comfortable lives. Perhaps the most intense natural treatment for BMS is cryotherapy, the utilization of Natural Remedies for Burning Mouth Syndrome to affect the body.

herbssolutionsbynature said...

With the basic ideas out of the way, the next thing that we would certainly like to discuss around is how one can use the Natural Remedies for Burning Mouth Syndrome. If you want to relieve Buy Herbal Product for Burning Mouth Syndrome , eating yogurt is considered one of the best ones in the lot. Read for Valuable Information Herbs Solutions by Nature

herbssolutionsbynature said...

Home Remedies can significantly reduce tremors, though Benign Essential Tremor cannot be cured overall. Natural Remedies for Benign Essential Tremor in hands, stress balls, or other consolidation exercises can relieve train muscles to decrease tremors in your hands. Buy Herbal Product for Benign Essential Tremor can also be things that are used for very different results in other patients.

doloblogies said...

Hello mate, nice blog