A PLACE TO CALL OUR OWN

A part of the stone wall in our backyard has fallen again. Slowly but surely, the insidious roots of trees and creeping ivy have damaged the boulders when we were sleeping. So with some homemade cement concoction we decided to put the wall up again, boulder by boulder with the wind behind us, whistling all its charm. Physically putting the stones back, one by one requires dedication, commitment, constant drive and dogged persistence. There was this construction-disruption duality of creativity. A sisyphean but therapeutic task indeed.

What is it with broken walls and mending them?

A fallen wall would be the red fox’s answered prayer to lay his paws on the chickens in the coop. The red fox here is certainly not the doe-eyed Disney version of Tod as in the ‘Fox and the Hound’ but the sly, lean and mean type that has no qualms about plucking the chickens’ feathers one by one. On the other hand, a fallen wall would be my puppy’s answered prayer to a glimpse of the outside world, to his delight or detriment.

Do we erect walls to keep intruders out or to protect the inhabitants within? Running Robert Frost’s poem ‘Mending Walls’ through my mind, I would think it is a little bit of both.

Walls create a sense of security.

The Caherconnell Stone Fort in the Burren, stands testimony of the need to construct walls to protect settlements even in prehistoric times. These walls are physical echoes of a distant past. No castle is complete without thick walls and a moat. The Bunratty Castle near Shannon has eyelets in the wall where archers can let fly dozens of arrows without being seen. In times of peace, these eyelets double up as peeping holes for fair maidens to view the dashing suitors and knights who approach the castle. Not unlike the screens that divide the sitting room from the family room in a typical Peranakan house – where modest maidens in the past could view their male visitors in the sitting room.

Walls prevent accidents.

There is also the look out wall which protects the viewer from sharp drops in height and allows him to view the splendid scenery. One such wall is the Ladies View about 12 miles from Killarney on the N71 road headed towards Kenmare. It is a major stopping point for visitors and the view from this look-out area is probably the best known of Killarney. The picture perfect photos of the mountains could be taken either in the mid-morning or mid afternoon. Seemingly, Queen Victoria’s ladies-in-waiting visited this spot during the royal visit in 1861. They were so enraptured with the view that it was named after them.

Walls create a psychological space.

We need a place to call our own away from prying eyes and nosey neighbours. Imagine living in a glass house where others can see us sip our tea or comb our hair.

Having said that, it is also frightening that barriers can confine.

We have seen how walls that have been set up to divide political ideologies fall to allow reconciliation and freedom. The concrete reality can be a focal point for tensions between the factions supporting opposing ideologies. Chaotic celebrations would fill the air with the fall of a political wall.

Finally, we have also seen how walls around our minds shut out possibilities and differences in opinion or ideas. Often times we are left with the impression that if two people have differences, they are not considered equals by society. Take for example the gypsies who have their own customs and practices. I have seen a number of them in the neighbourhood who live in caravans and keep to themselves. It is impossible for us to build lasting relationships while we are still possessed with hatred and discrimination.

There is indeed no room for such walls of separation and segregation.