The Next Field
-The Fence-
Those long summer days went far too fast
Exploring and playing in the countryside
Our wanderings took us beyond the horizon
Joyful of adventure through and through
Keep going we would cry out loud
To see how far we could go
Not heat, or ache, or rumblings of hunger
Broke our youthful strides
But by and by our gait it slowed to a disappointed halt
For there before us stood our bane
A fence separating us from further
It ran as far as our eyes could see
From one side to the other
Our mothers had warned of trespassing
Our fathers threatened with the leather
Dazed and broken we followed the line
Hoping to find an end
But dark soon prodded all us home for bed, for food, for warmth
The fence beat us then and now as we are old
Our own fences are added to the countryside
We look on in sadness, perhaps a little amusement
As young ones ponder these barriers
They will one day build their own and watch the others play
~D.A. Stanley