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  • Writer's pictureDon Rearden

On the Fence


once you commit 

to crossing

there is no going back

barbed wire requires

certain care

look at a leather couch

or my left palm

those thin scars come easy

but heal hard

pole fences appear

easy to climb

but wood rots

nails rust and betray

everything tumbles down

stone, steal, concrete

all this division of 

land, labor, love

build a wall 

around your heart

and then, when 

you find yourself 

on the fence

don’t linger


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