A POEM
>
> A clothes line was a news forecast
> To neighbors passing by.
> There were no secrets you could keep
> When clothes were hung to dry.
>
> It also was a friendly link
> For neighbors always knew
> If company had stopped on by
> To spend a night or two.
>
> For then you'd see the 'fancy sheets'
> And towels upon the line;
> You'd see the 'company table cloths'
> With intricate design.
>
> The line announced a baby's birth
> To folks who lived inside
> As brand new infant clothes were hung
> So carefully with pride.
>
> The ages of the children could
> So readily be known
> By watching how the sizes changed
> You'd know how much they'd grown.
>
> It also told when illness struck,
> As extra sheets were hung;
> Then nightclothes, and a bathrobe, too,
> Haphazardly were strung.
>
> It said, 'Gone on vacation now'
> When lines hung limp and bare.
> It told, 'We're back!' when full lines sagged
> With not an inch to spare.
>
> New folks in town were scorned upon
> If wash was dingy gray,
> As neighbors carefully raised their brows,
> And looked the other way..
>
> But clotheslines now are of the past
> For dryers make work less.
> Now what goes on inside a home
> Is anybody's guess.
>
> I really miss that way of life.
> It was a friendly sign
> When neighbors knew each other best
> By what hung on the line!
>
> A clothes line was a news forecast
> To neighbors passing by.
> There were no secrets you could keep
> When clothes were hung to dry.
>
> It also was a friendly link
> For neighbors always knew
> If company had stopped on by
> To spend a night or two.
>
> For then you'd see the 'fancy sheets'
> And towels upon the line;
> You'd see the 'company table cloths'
> With intricate design.
>
> The line announced a baby's birth
> To folks who lived inside
> As brand new infant clothes were hung
> So carefully with pride.
>
> The ages of the children could
> So readily be known
> By watching how the sizes changed
> You'd know how much they'd grown.
>
> It also told when illness struck,
> As extra sheets were hung;
> Then nightclothes, and a bathrobe, too,
> Haphazardly were strung.
>
> It said, 'Gone on vacation now'
> When lines hung limp and bare.
> It told, 'We're back!' when full lines sagged
> With not an inch to spare.
>
> New folks in town were scorned upon
> If wash was dingy gray,
> As neighbors carefully raised their brows,
> And looked the other way..
>
> But clotheslines now are of the past
> For dryers make work less.
> Now what goes on inside a home
> Is anybody's guess.
>
> I really miss that way of life.
> It was a friendly sign
> When neighbors knew each other best
> By what hung on the line!
Same here.
