Before I built a wall I'd ask to know What I was walling in or walling out, And to whom I was like to give offence. Something there is that doesn't love a wall, That wants it down.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Before building a wall, consider what you are keeping in or out and who might be offended; something inevitably wants the wall down.
- In plain terms
- Think about the purpose and impact of a wall before erecting it.
- What can you take from it?
- Evaluate the need and effect of barriers.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- What do you gain by building a wall?
- Who might benefit from its presence?
Another view
Sometimes walls are necessary for protection.
More from Robert Frost
My apple trees will never get across And eat the cones under his pines, I tell him. He only says, 'Good fences make good neighbours.'
Permalink to quote #92 He moves in darkness as it seems to me, Not of woods only and the shade of trees. He will not go behind his father's saying, And he likes having thought of it …
Permalink to quote #94 Something there is that doesn't love a wall, That sends the frozen-ground-swell under it, And spills the upper boulders in the sun; And makes gaps even two can…
Permalink to quote #91
Related quotes
I have tried at all times to slaughter as few civilians as possible.
Curtis LeMayCurtis LeMay quote #2 My aim in helping the patient was not to cause death. My aim was to end suffering. It's got to be decriminalized.
Jack KevorkianJack Kevorkian quote #3 Really to sin you have to be serious about it.
Henrik IbsenHenrik Ibsen quote #5