A Paean to Walls (or To Pee on Walls)

By Gary Lindorff (with a Spanish translation by Carlos Ramirez)

According to Webster 

the first walls were steep hillsides 

or palisades utilized for defense.

How many walls do we need 

To keep ourselves safe 

And to secure all our freedoms? 

The strongest walls are subtle, 

Like the one built by Descartes 

Between the head and heart. 

And Darwin’s wall

Between the weak and the strong 

Still stands against the relentless attacks 

Of fundamentalism 

And the academic proofs of real science. 

The Papal wall between the Pope 

And everyone else 

Doesn’t seem to have aged at all! 

But there are world-class walls 

That are not so subtle 

Like the Great Wall of China 

Built to accommodate two warhorses 

Charging abreast. 

And Israel is building a fine wall 

In the West Bank – 8 meters tall! 

A true wall should outlast its architects! 

That one certainly will!

 A real wall learns from the failures of great walls of the past –

...

For the rest of this poem by TCBH! resident poet Gary Lindorff (and a spanish translation by Carlos Ramirez!), please go to:www.thiscantbehappening.net/node/1391