The Stone Wall Poem by Laurence Overmire

I look at the wall now nearly forty years later
Wrapping around the curve of the driveway
A place we played many times
A common ground between his house and mine.

The summers of childhood pass much too quickly
Without any comprehension of who or what we are
Or so it seems, I can still remember moments
Inside that four-year-old head.

Once, my friend and I had an argument of some kind
I can't recall the what or the why
Isn't that the way it always is, those
Petty things don't mean much in time.

I do remember, caught up in anger, rushing
Inside the garage to find some weapon with which to
Throttle, he doing the same, rushing to his house
Both of us meeting for a showdown in front of

The Wall.

One step back for momentum, then charging with
Brooms raised high above our heads, our faces
Contorted in ghoulish fury, ready to strike like Zeus
(cleaning house) when suddenly—

We stopped at the very same instant.

Seeing one inside the other, the absurdity of it all
A snicker at first, then a chortle
Growing exponentially into a wild beastly guffaw
Snorts blasting through our noses, ravishing

The quiet clean-cut lawns, dignified biddies
Red-faced at the bald effrontery of our delight
Ah, had we been but older we might even have
Flipped that proverbial sweet bird of youth!

We never fought again, he and I
Best friends understand, in some split second of
Strange childish wisdom, we knew what governments, nations
And most power-driven men and women never learn.

Until it's too late.

No, you won't find any blood upon our wall.
It holds the Earth.
A convenient place to sit and rest when the sun beats down
A place of fond memory, of times well spent, of people

Solid as rock.

~ Laurence Overmire