Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, RETREATS, by CARRIE ADAMS BERRY


Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

RETREATS, by                    
First Line: New england has her rocky walls, enclosing hilltop fields
Last Line: To find the way to ultimates which give the soul new birth.
Subject(s): New England; Soul; Walls


New England has her rocky walls, enclosing hilltop fields,
Upon all sides they stand erect like four protective shields,
Yet barren harvests often prove the return this caution yields.

Walls appearing durable may still disintegrate,
The cattle will come roving through the gaps that form a gate
And wandering hoof and greedy mouth too soon annihilate.

So men will fall in disrepair and need to be rebuilt,
Their very virtues crumble till they drop apart like silt,
And all their valuations are unsettled and a-tilt.

It's then they hunt a solitude to find a sense of worth,
To recreate the buttresses and guard against a dearth --
To find the way to ultimates which give the soul new birth.





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