A Gal Who Grew Up In a Barn

Gather round while I spin a yarn 'bout a young gal, grew up in a barn With horses and cows, she had her own stall She loved taking care of them, most of all She'd feed the horses and milk every cow Nobody ever showed her quite how She worked so hard, she rubbed her hands raw Baling the hay and bundling the straw Well, year after year she took care of her tasks Secretly hoping that someone would ask Her out on a date or some such like that But she was afraid of men and a little bit fat One summer day the sky turned pitch black A tornado was brewing, there was no turning back It stormed right on in, a-whirling and whooshing, a picture of awe All her hay swept away, she clutched at two pieces of straw She hung on to those straw strands with all of her might As they swilled and swirled, and flew up out of sight The last folks saw of her, she was high up in the sky Singin' -- "To heck with horses! I'm a bird; I can fly!" September 10, 2020 Clutching at Straws Poetry Contest Sponsor: Kai Michael Neumann