Author unknown

A POEM

A clothesline was a news forecast
To neighbours passing by,
There were no secrets you could keep
When clothes were hung to dry.

It also was a friendly link
For neighbours 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 designs.

The line announced a baby's birth
From 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 also 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 and gray,
As neighbours carefully raised their brows,
And looked the other way .. . .

But clotheslines now are of the past,
For dryers make work much 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 neighbours knew each other best
By what hung on the line.

I remember everyone giggling about how the diapers were hung on the line and it meaning the baby would soon be here. Mom was getting ready or nesting as they used to call it. A friend of mine and I were talking about a mom who had a scheduled C-section and her milk hadn't come in and the baby hasn't had a wet diaper in 24 hours. We discussed that our bodies know when to have milk when we have our babies in God's time and not the doctors.