I once heard an old person say to me
That sometimes, good fences make good neighbors.
Fences, whether visible or unseen
Certainly make it harder to be known.
The implication is that the unknown
Makes good neighbors. We don't know our neighbors.
Part of me believes that's kind of a shame.
But at the same time, part of me is glad
That my neighbors respect my privacy.
Yes, sometimes good fences make good neighbors.
To be known is to allow pain to come.
What would this world be like for all of us
If we treated neighbors like family?
Something there is that doesn't love a wall,
That same man said several years ago.
There's that annoying neighbor that always
Tries to get to know everybody, probe.
A good church man is always aware
Of everybody else's shit, he said.
Something there is that doesn't love a wall,
And this neighbor is that something there is.
I once heard an old person say to me
That sometimes, good fences make good neighbors.
But no fences do not make good neighbors.
They make neighbors always up in our shit,
Which make horribly annoying neighbors,
Or make incredibly helpful neighbors.
Either way, no fences make engaging
Neighbors. Life is now memorably great.