That Old Red Barn

I still remember that old barn so red; a center point of my youth;
Pickle barrels in the cellar; cows on the ground floor and hay stored in the loft.

I rode the John Deere a thousand times in and out of her wide, always opened doors;
Plowing fields near and far, but with her redness never out of my distant sight.

She housed the cows we milked and the tools we used throughout the long, hard day;
And, she was our playground on those summer days when chores were done by noon.

I remember her beautiful, natural smell that our city cousins abhorred;
And, I knew every nook and cranny that I could hide in to get away from their whines.

We would swing on the rope out of the loft, landing on piles of freshly cut hay;
And, just lay quietly in the night with a cool summer breeze passing through her doors.

It was in this red haven that I birthed my first calf and learned how to set a broken leg;
And, it was high in the loft with my high school sweetheart that I first became a man.

The farm that housed that wondrous red barn is now a mall parking lot;
But, the memories of lessons learned within are forever blazoned upon my mind.

Copyright © | Year Posted 2010



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Date: 12/13/2010 10:27:00 AM
Congratulations on your win Joe in Rick's contest. Love, Carol
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Date: 12/12/2010 6:47:00 AM
I'm with Francine on this one, it's wonderfully written, with many images to picture. Many congratulations on your win >> James
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Date: 12/11/2010 7:17:00 PM
love this one, congrats on your win Joe
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Date: 12/11/2010 4:52:00 PM
aaah, dang it, another barn razed for a mall. I think one other person's entry had a barn with similar fate. This is really cool, and I am loving all the winning poems from this contest. Congrats on yours. LUv, Andrea
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Date: 12/11/2010 9:59:00 AM
I remember her beautiful, natural smell that our city cousins abhorred; I, myself remember a barnyard smell where the cattle were fed, that I most supprisingly love too, Joe. Congratulations on yopur poem's honor. Agape, Moses
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Date: 12/11/2010 6:09:00 AM
Congrats Joe on your winning poem in Rick's contest with this elegant write and win my friend.. enjoy another sweet victory with luv..
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Date: 12/11/2010 4:57:00 AM
Congratulations on this well deserved win in the contest of Red barn
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Date: 12/10/2010 11:28:00 PM
How interesting that you see this barn as a "she," Joe. Perhaps it is because of the sentiments associated with it. Congratulations on your placement in Rick's contest! Love, Carolyn
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Date: 10/7/2010 9:26:00 AM
Memories!! Remeber the Red Man chewing tobacco ads on the sides. Better days. Vince
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Date: 10/5/2010 11:39:00 AM
Sorry about the loss of the friend of youth in the barn...I could feel your memories as I read your work..I am glad that I chose this one to read today..Sara
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Date: 10/5/2010 8:21:00 AM
I love this ....the nostalgia, the fond memory described through a growing young boy's eyes. A part of our country's history, slowly fading away. Love, Carrie
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Date: 10/4/2010 5:43:00 PM
Lovely memories...amazing how the Red BArn influenced lives...BG
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Date: 10/4/2010 4:11:00 PM
Nice images Joe; especially the line natural smells. Hard for city folk to appreciate hay/aged manure/straw as a pleasant scent, but it damn sure is! Wayne
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Date: 10/4/2010 3:58:00 PM
wonderful entry for the contest, brings back such sweet memories of youth
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