Mending Wall
by Robert Frost, beloved American poet
recited by Patricia L. Cummings
Stone Wall in Sutton, New Hampshire. photo by James Cummings
Sheep Keepers
In New England, stone walls were built, four to five feet high, to keep the sheep in pastures. These stone walls have sunk into the ground over the years, and are now present throughout wooded areas that were once cleared grazing land. People from somewhere else often wonder why New England has so many stone walls through the woods. That is the reason.
In this favorite poem, "Mending Wall," the poet asks why his neighbor is so intent on keeping the stone wall between them. After all, there are "no cows" to keep out, he reasons. It is a total art, this business of building stone walls and balancing the rocks, so that they will not fall over. As always, in Frost poetry, there lies deeper meaning.
Before I built a wall - I'd ask to know
What I was walling in or walling out,
And to whom I was like to give offense.
Lupine flowers in June 2009 in Lisbon, NH field with a stone wall.
photo by James Cummings
Politically-speaking, we could still wonder about walls, couldn't we?
"The Great Sheep Boom" is the title of a talk given by Steve Taylor, former New Hampshire Commissioner of Agriculture in conjunction with the NH Humanities Council. He presented information about the history of sheep (and stonewalls) in the Granite State, during the summer of 2009. To read more about one presentation in Francestown, please visit a blog entry, by clicking on the underlined paragraph heading above.
Robert Frost Farm in Derry, New Hampshire
One of the New England homes that Robert Frost enjoyed is located in Derry, New Hampshire. For more information about programs there, see: http://www.nhstateparks.com/frost.html
Quilter's Muse Publications, 2009. Patricia Cummings, Concord, NH pat@quiltersmuse.com