11. what makes a wall great

what makes a wall great
is its sense of humor,
playfully bending the wall's spine like 
a ribbon across the crests of the
mountainside;

is its bedroom eyes,
coaxing color and sweat to
the surface of the humans that 
dare to climb with its heat;

is its solid upbringing,
history of toil and struggle
gluing each stone tightly to
its neighbor, promising to never let go;

is its honesty to a fault,
crumbling the sun-baked stone
into dust, in memory of the people
who died for its immortality;

is its talent for matchmaking,
plucking eligible travelers, students,
retirees
heartbreakers, heartbrokers, & their victims,
addicts, bookworms, and academics who burn easily
from every nook and wrinkle of the world
and sending them blindly to discover love in one another.

today, i stood at the top of a great wall
in an oddly-assembled, international, sweaty bunch
among strangers
now dear to me

taken by amanda mayumi

taken by gordana smith