The Fence and the Nettles

How long will it take
For the fence to break the nails
If a warm hand fails to slip through?
Time, eternal time, come in and die
The nettles crave the winter dew’s touch

On the ground, away from the air knives,
But under the dull drizzle of sawdust.

Oh for the holes in the wood,
Won’t the pinpricks of light
peep in and look, steal the frost
To avail the crumbling sight?
These winds erase the faces lost
Inside this barrier of bitter lone…

Oh time, the unwinding sheets of time,
Cease, end and write a new chime.

Alas, to float down to the winter’s sigh, 
Was the light of the nettles, the untrue.
But it’s old, and strong, build up by time
Thus, even if a warm hand slips through,
A long while will it take
For the fence to break the nails!