Stone Walls

Along the country roadside, stone on stone, Past waving grain-field, and near broken stile, The walls stretch onward, an uneven pile, With rankling vines and lichen overgrown: So stand they sentinel. Unchanged, alone, They ’re left to watch the seasons’ passing slow: The summer’s sunlight or the winter’s snow, The spring-time’s birdling, or the autumn’s moan. Who placed the stones now gray with many years? And did the rough hands tire, the sore hearts ache, The eyes grow dim with all their weight of tears? Or did the work seem light for some dear sake? Those lives are over. All their hopes and fears Are lost like shadows in the morning-break.