weirs

"And the black sticks that fence the weirs"
Main Entry: weir  
Pronunciation: 'war, 'were, 'wir
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English were, from Old English wer; akin to Old Norse ver fishing place, Old High German werien, werren to defend
Date: before 12th century
1 : a fence or enclosure set in a waterway for taking fish
2 : a dam in a stream or river to raise the water level or divert its flow 
 
      In this line of the poem weirs probably means a dam in a stream or river to raise the water level or divert its flow. "And the black sticks that fence the weirs" means that there are black sticks that make up the dam. I think that the definition of weirs is a dam in a stream or river to raise the water level or divert its flow because I can see why someone who lived by the ocean would want a dam by their house. It would be so that the water doesn't reach the house and cause problems or it doesn't get into a certain area that the water shouldn't be in. Though, its definition could be a fence or enclosure set in a waterway for taking fish. This would also make sense because you could have a fence somewhere that would help you catch fish. It also says fence the weirs plural which it might make more sense for there to be more then one fence or enclosure for catching fish, then there would be many dams in a specific area. In my mind I don't think it really matters that much in this line. 
 
 

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