Gates

Does your House have Eight gates? I doubt. None of our Previous houses Had eight gates To keep intruders Out. So don't know Why the former Owner of this Bungalow, Who was also Its first owner, Erected 8 gates Was it some Kind of indulgence In flamboyance and Opulence, showing A life of excess? Or was it a measure To deter burglars and Trespassers? In Britain's Stormy, squally Weather, gates Do require repairs And maintenance. Maintaining eight Gates surely does Add to costs and Expenditure, if you Need them to be Strong and sturdy And endure windy Weather. The metal gates Rust, the wooden Gates rot, sometimes The storm brings them Down, loosening their Nuts and bolts, even Swaying their spur posts. The latches and locks Of those gates need to Be secure. If they break, The gates keep opening And closing, buffeted by The blustering gales that Keep banging them. So having repaired and Replaced some of these Gates, we are now adjusting To this new life of being Guarded by these 8 gates.