Marianne Young

Marianne Young is attending Utah State University for her Master’s Degree in English Literature and Writing. She is currently a high school teacher and has been for the past 16 years. This is her first poetry publication.

Stone Fences

Stone fences,
Centuries old, rise from rolling hills.
The car is quick to pass,
But I notice
The careful placement of each rock
Wedged in tension
Across hilltops of heather.

Without mortar,
These have shifted from
A time of “commons”
To one of enclosures.
I step from my car
To hold its story in my hand.

My eyes follow patterns
Workers created, sweating,
“Two over one, one over two,”
Hands continuously stacking.
Big and small, the rocks unite
For stability, steady in the
Changeable wall.

Weathered by storms
A dark, mossy battlement,
An antiquated art
Of living history, I reach
Out to feel it breathe.