Guest Poem by Shirley Wright

Shirley Wright is a former French teacher. She lives in Bristol, England. Her poems have appeared in magazines and anthologies, and have won or been placed in various competitions. Her collections The Last Green Field and Sticks and Stones are published by Indigo Dreams.”

Ha-ha! *

The trouble with your average wall
is visibility.

Dezallier d’Argenville had the right idea.
He understood the power of illusion,
the artifice of panoramic views
unbroken to the far horizon

and no invading cattle to destroy the lawn
or nosey neighbours tramping through the yard
unless invited to admire his subtlety
when every time, apparently,
they laughed.

*In 1709 French landscape gardener Dezallier
d’Argenville revealed his invention and
named it after the exclamations of surprise by
all who first saw it.