“Something there is that doesn’t love a wall,
“That sends the frozen-ground-swell under it,
“And spills the upper boulders in the sun;
“And makes gaps even two can pass abreast. …”
I was going to make some pompous observations about old-time walls meant to clarify property lines, not keep people out or prevent neighborly conversations. But then I read a merciless spoof of bloggers trying to be profound. So I decided just to show you how cleverly these old dry walls were built to last, smaller stones tucked into gaps to keep higher ones balanced.
The spoof was in a strange, delightful novel called Winter, by Ali Smith. And although I bristled at the unproofread mess of her fake blog post, I recognized the temptation to invent or reinterpret something from childhood because … who will know the difference?
But I must stay honest, like the old, sturdy dry walls. They were not the kind that blow over in a high wind as the one in this 2020 story: “A portion of [the] border wall blew over from gusty winds Wednesday, falling on the Mexican side of the border.
“The newly installed panels were a part of an ongoing project to improve existing parts of the wall in Calexico, California. Agent Carlos Pitones of the Customs and Border Protection in El Centro, California, told CNN that the new concrete foundation had not yet cured when the wall panels fell down amid windy conditions.”
Suzanne's Mom's Blog 