"The Wall": "The only way to break down walls is to build bridges."

"The Wall" 

Wall Mural and Poem by Dr Abe V Rotor

"The only way to break down walls is to build bridges." - Unknown

"The Wall" in acrylic by the author at his residence in San Vicente, Ilocos Sur 2025

The wall - low enough to see the other side;

     high enough to hide what is inside;

Intramuros, Hadrian, and the Great Wall,

     seemingly formidable 'til their fall.

The wall - prison inside, freedom outside;

     power and wealth it cannot hide;

the Bastille, Jericho, the once Berlin Wall,

     history tells of their common fall.

The wall - symbol of man's dream and pride;

     defying the rise and fall of tide,

immortality, time, and destiny of the soul.

     far beyond the wall lies his goal.

The wall - nature's defence at times tried,

     proudly stands on the guardian's side;

for the safety of all creatures, big and small.

     in unity and harmony as a whole.

The wall - man's test of his duty to abide,

     now and always, far and wide;

of nature's ways and not his own control;

     for there's no need of wall after all.

The wall - living fort of trees on the hillside,

     tall grasses on the meadow hide,

like coral reefs and levees on the shoal,

     niches to the living, home for all.

The wall - rainbow in the sky we once cried

     with joy, the greatest gift to a child,

lives forever in our mind, heart and soul,

     paves our way to our final Goal. ~  

  “Men build too many walls and not enough bridges.”- Isaac Newton

Hanging wall, detail

"The wall - nature's defence at times tried,

     proudly stands on the guardian's side..."

"Sometimes you put walls up not to keep people out, but to see 

who cares enough to break them down." - Socrates

 

Details of wall mural

"The wall - living fort of trees on the hillside,

          tall grasses on the meadow hide..."

“What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters 

compared to what lies within us.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson