the spaces in between

Like a battlement the wall has repulsed time,

embracing the morsels of life,

that foraged and assailed

in the chequered alternations of seasons.

There is no cloning conformity to its face,

no contortions of nip and tuck

to present a façade of contemporary fashion.

Concrete pillars and brick bastions have come and gone -

their unforgiving solidity

falling foul of subsidence and decay,

within its stoic gaze.

This is a living wall, the breaths of uncounted lives

coming and going, birthing and rotting,

hunters and prey

playing their spans

in and out of its cuddling.

Secret passages, bed chambers, dining halls

inhabit its fortification.

Its strength lies in its unconformity

in elastic flexibility it withstands assault

each piece in its place, its bed of truth;

touching and touched, angled and dangled

to best advantage.

Size isn’t everything, the smallest shard

making stable the prime ministers of stone.

The secret of its gentle resilience

is not the genesis of rock

but the spaces in between.