Now the stone house on the lake front is finished and the workmen are beginning the fence. The palings are made of iron bars with steel points that can stab the life out of any man who falls on them. As a fence, it is a masterpiece, and will shut off the rabble and all vagabonds and hungry men and all wandering children looking for a place to play. Passing through the bars and over the steel points will go nothing except Death and the Rain and To-morrow. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...GUNS AS KEYS: AND THE GREAT GATE SWINGS by AMY LOWELL ODE TO WISDOM by ELIZABETH CARTER KILLED AT THE FORD by HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW THE CUMBERLAND [MARCH 8, 1862] by HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW THE INNER VISION by WILLIAM WORDSWORTH |