tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6735825520095400787.post8004206794288741021..comments2023-05-28T09:52:26.071-05:00Comments on Finding the Right Words: Poem Analysis #4Minervahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17803450940250232122noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6735825520095400787.post-40501136675165316852009-11-06T23:04:51.819-06:002009-11-06T23:04:51.819-06:00I've always thought that the good fences/good ...I've always thought that the good fences/good neighbors thing referred to the potential for endless warfare over just where, exactly, the property line ran---where there is a good fence delineating it, there's no (well, <i>less</i>) squabbling over who is responsible for yard upkeep where, who can plant a rosebush where, etc. Possibly with a side-order of well-built and -maintained fencing keeping <i>your</i> livestock out of <i>my</i> garden. Maybe even a bit of "that cow was in <i>my</i> field, with <i>my</i> herd, it must be one of <i>my</i> cattle".<br /><br />Of course, this doesn't deter arguing over who <i>owns</i> the fence, when it comes to fence painting, maintenance or replacement, or where the 'fence' is a line of bushes, who is in charge of keeping what clipped, or has the right to rip it out and replace it (with a fence, for example).<br /><br />And I suppose, with a tall wooden or stone wall, there might be the issue of privacy, in that an opaque barrier is useful for limiting the extent to which the neighbors are able to 'spy' on your personal business; but this might apply more to in densely-populated suburbs than to the wide-open rural areas.<br /><br />I can remember one occasion in my past where a good fence would have made for better neighbor-ness....because if the fence had been in good shape, someone else's calf wouldn't have been in a position to commit suicide by throwing itself in front of my husband's van. Funny thing....<i>another</i> calf had been hit, out of that same field, earlier that morning. No satisfaction was obtained for anybody, and that certainly made for general bad feelings.<br /><br />cicelyAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com