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Clothesline

The house where I grew up Came with a clothesline in the back, A dryer being something that Most homes those days did lack. I learned to hang the towels, Overlapping just a bit, Since by doing so, more laundry On the line would get to fit. I visualize my mom, With wooden clothespins firmly gripped In her mouth, despite the fact With clothespin bag she was equipped. When Covid struck, I hung a rope Across my bathtub’s length, Afraid to hit the laundry room And test its viral strength. It was a clothesline, technically; I called it by that name. Without the backyard breezes, though, It wasn’t quite the same.

Copyright © | Year Posted 2021




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Date: 9/17/2021 3:47:00 PM
Memories came flooding back of this very thing. Fond memories. Thank you. Enjoyed your verse.
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Date: 9/9/2021 4:29:00 PM
Haven't seen a clothesline in many years, but your poem makes me think of helping my mother hang and take down clothes in the sunshine...also the fresh smell of clothes that have been dried outside. Thanks for bringing that memory back to me.
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Date: 9/3/2021 11:24:00 AM
"I visualize my mom, With wooden clothespins firmly gripped In her mouth, despite the fact With clothespin bag she was equipped." This reminds me that the women on my block would all hang their wash in the same corner, so they could chat.
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Date: 8/30/2021 1:01:00 PM
Laundry room? Do you not have a washer and dryer in your apartment? That’s also primitive.
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Date: 8/29/2021 7:36:00 PM
See? Women always know how to get things done! Enjoyed!
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Date: 8/29/2021 6:59:00 PM
Love this so much! Fave, Ilene! I used a clothesline early in my marriage before we could afford a dryer. Great experience but it wouldn’t be here in my forest!
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Date: 8/29/2021 5:24:00 PM
Wow! This one takes me back several decades. I also remember using boiled starch and pants creasers--grrr! Good poem, Ilene. Janice
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Date: 8/29/2021 12:22:00 PM
My Captcha reads ART, Ilene...probably must refer to the art you have of turning anything into poetry! Though you called the bathtub's rope (b)y that name, nothing beats an outside clothesline where washing flutters with the breeze :) Regards // paul
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Bauer Avatar
Ilene Bauer
Date: 8/29/2021 12:28:00 PM
Thanks, Paul, and thank you for gently pointing out my typo, which I have since corrected…

Book: Reflection on the Important Things