The wall is tall and cold.
I’ll paint upon it murals
of fire and war and blood,
of peace and lush green fields,
of calm still lakes and
rivers in the deepest winter.
Stories of heroes and outlaws.
Smiling wolves and soaring swans.
Aching hearts and torn minds.
And enigmatic tapestry
upon the roughened stonework.
Which side of the wall will I
stand on when it crashes down?
Which side is behind?
Behind the high stone wall.
That’s where I can watch
My spectres dance and frolic.
Carrying through the shadows
the shade of a smile,
a laugh, a cough, a curse,
a warm caress now frost.
Like the visionaries of Berlin
I wish to see this wall come down,
and yet I am afraid.
The world beyond the wall is cruel.
My heart has broken before the stone,
crushed to finely powdered dust,
Cementing the wall in place.
Have at it, please,
and bring it down,
rejoin me to the world.
But leave this fragile heart intact.
Bio:
Ross Walsh is a Wexford-born journalist and writer based in Dublin, Ireland. He has written for The Irish Times and Al Jazeera, and his creative work has previously been published in The Children of the Nation: An Anthology of Working People’s Poetry from Contemporary Ireland, From the Plough to the Stars: An Anthology of Working People's Prose from Contemporary Ireland, The Auroras & Blossoms PoArtMo Anthology: 2020 Edition, and Stepaway Magazine".