Randy Baker is a friend who loves the southern countryside and captures it beautifully in his photographs. Like many, he considers his pictures to be “just photos” and not art. He is modest about his talents for capturing beauty in a split-second shot. To me, this is art at its best.
I’ve held on to this picture all summer. It’s such a simple picture, and yet it is a perfect picture. Its subject is straight-forward–it’s a photo of a fence in the countryside. Yes, there are lots of fences. But look closely at this picture. The most noticeable feature is the upright stake, but it’s not just a pre-milled wooden stake. It’s a section of a tree still covered in bark. It also has a section that once was part of a limb and now appears to be almost a mouth sharing its thoughts with us on this cloudy summer day. The texture, the color of the bark, and then the color and texture around it in the grass and the wild flowers to the right and the cut and fallen grasses in front–all of these make it a photo you want to study for a long. I have certainly done just that.
This picture also made me want to re-read Robert Frost’s wonderful poem, The Mending Wall. I spent a whole morning reading and rereading that magificent poem and then reading some critical interpretations of it. I left refreshed and in still very much in awe of Frost’s brilliance. No wonder everyone remembers that poem or at least the famous lines it has given us. So this picture also gave me this–a little detour into rereading one of the great American poems that I hadn’t picked up in decades.
But Randy’s picture is not of a wall in need of repair or mending. It is a wall made of air, wire and wood. An entirely different type of barrier from a stone wall. The purpose is the same–it demarcates land ownership, and it keeps something out–or in. That is what got this poetic mind going.
What does a fence really do?
Here are my responses to the question of what a fence is or might be. I’ve looked at this picture so many times, and this single picture has inspired quite a few poems. These are very brief poems–sketches in verse, plus there is one poem about fences as a metaphor for our own need to be guarded at times.
.
the only real fence is in my head
.
.
on the fence—
am I in
or am I out?
.
.
Clichés abound
when it comes
to fences.
.
And here is a poem for all of us who guard our hearts so closely:
.
My Fence
What do they —or you—
know about my fence,
and how carefully
I chose to build it?
Can you guess
how long
it took to build it?
A lifetime of habit,
carefully constructed
and often hidden habits,
a life spent half in fear
of being judged
unkindly, unfairly,
with malice
in another heart.
Note: I would like to thank Randy Baker for allowing me to use this beautiful photograph that he took in the beautiful mountains of Virginia. It is a picture I would like to have framed and hanging near my writing desk. Randy, your pictures are always inspiring and bring a clarity to both the mind and heart. Thank you so much.
.
Wow. Who knew fences could really have so much depth? I wonder how your teaching influenced your opinion about fences? I know, from experience, how important it is to not “cross a line” with students – are these lines the same as fences? Thank-you for this beautiful post.
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Interesting question. I’m not sure my teaching did ever affect it. I love art and poetry that deal with boundaries–physical, mental or metaphorical. We all have boundaries and those change with context, I believe. Openness can be liberating but it also has risks. Thanks for reading so closely and sensitively, Stacey. 😊
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ONe cannot help but read closely and sensitively, Mary. Your writing is very provocative! Beautiful. Indeed, I agree, openness can have risks — and that I have learned from teaching.
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With malice in another heart….you helped me today. Thank you for sharing your wonderful talents.
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I’m glad one of my poems could help in even a small way, Tina. 💕
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Wonderful play with words and ideas. And yes, an inspirational photo.
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My thanks to you. 💕
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He looked closely – you looked closer still
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I guess I did…in my own way. Thanks, Derrick!😊
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The picture and the poems were all lovely, Mary. Thanks for pointing out all the features of the picture. That adds so much to it for me. A photo with hills and/or mountains in the background is truly beautiful.
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I’m glad you liked it, too. 😊
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Thank you for this beauty and inspiration on a dull morning!
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You are most welcome. 😊
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Thank you for the kind words! You’re writing is wonderful! I loved reading each one!
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You are appearing as “anonymous,” but I know it’s you, the creator of the beautiful photo. I hope you can see just how much people love your work. Thank you for giving me something so beautiful to work with…as you know, I love writing to something beautiful (especially in nature). Best wishes to you, my friend ~ Mary
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Thank you Randy and Mary for reminding us of the beauty – and mystery – all around us.
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You’re very welcome, Sheppy. Inspiration and beauty do surround us. 💕
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Hi – I have a whole lot of thoughts about walls and gates – particularly gates. When I see you in Oct we will have stuff to discuss.
Ruth
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Looking forward to that visit. Gates, walls, fences and windows are all things I love working with in writing. It will be good to get an artist’s perspective. 🙂
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Love this- love the photo and the directions that Mary has taken me.
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Thank you so much for leaving a comment. I love knowing a friend enjoys something. 🙂
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What a variety of poems on the many sides of fences (no pun intended). 🙂
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I know. I really was inspired! 🙂
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