what does it mean
to conquer
mount misery?
as we climb
i ponder

in the 1600's
a pair of brothers
cannot decide
how to divide
upon inheriting
this lovely hilltop
their stonewall solution
still stands
in mute
mossy evidence
of their solomonic
wisdom

centuries later
a pair of oxen
break free
from the plow
in a nearby field
and head off
still yoked together
through the woods
to the top
of the hill

they die trying
to plow down
some tall pine
unable to agree upon
a retreat
after so many years
of pushing
together

found by a farmer
some time later
they give the place
its name--
mount misery

now i know
what it means
to conquer
the divide
to resolve
the solitary two-ness
of relationship
with imagination
grace and humor

because good fences
can last forever
and sometimes
the misery
of the plow
is less painful
than the misery
of reckless adventure
for two
still bound
together