Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Old and Tattered


BARNS
Just down the road... around the bend,
Stands an old empty barn; nearing the end.

It has sheltered no animals for many years;
No dairy cows, no horses, no sheep no steers.

The neigh of a horse; the low of a cow;
Those sounds have been absent for some time now.

There was a time when the loft was full of hay,
And the resounding echoes of children at play.

At one time the paint was a bold shade of red;
Gradually faded by weather and sun overhead.

The doors swing in the wind... the hinges are loose,
Windows and siding have taken a lot of abuse.

The fork, rope and pulleys lifted hay to the mow,
A task that always brought sweat to the brow.

But those days are gone; forever it seems,
And that old barn now stands with sagging beams.

It is now home to pigeons, rats and mice;
The interior is tattered and doesn't look very nice.

Old, abandoned barns have become a trend,
Just down the road... around the bend.




Vance Olipant, Cedar Rapids Iowa.

"I am 75 years old and find it heartbreaking to see what were once vibrant well-kept barns, slowly falling into ruin. I have tried to put my feelings to verse." 



..




Some of my best memories of my childhood were in an old Kansas Barn. I was so happy when Carol chose our Theme of the month, as I love barns, old and new.

Be sure and share your barns with us at our Flickr sight.




11 comments:

Carol said...

These are beautiful photos, Claudia. I especially love the last one and the top one. I love that barn shapes are so varied, and your framing of the subjects is perfect, not to mention that great sky you caught

Leigh said...

Love all these beautiful barns Claudia! Just beautiful processing too.

Linda said...

I like the poem, so true! I love old barns too, and always wonder about their past when I find one.
Great shots of some lovely barns!

xo,
Linda

heyjudephotography said...

What a nice poem. The sky's in your photos are as beautiful as the barns. I like how each one is so different from the other. I have good memories of barns too. I climbed around my Dad's barn a lot when I was a kid. Made hay forts, and walked across the beams pretending I was a tight rope walker. Luckily for me my Mom never knew that. I guess even more luckily for me, I didn't fall and kill myself!!! Nice post Claudia!

Kim Stevens said...

Great find on both the poem and the photos. I'm really loving that second one, with that blue sky and the cow in the background. Isn't it so interesting that we find barns so charming? xo

Dotti said...

Beautiful barns, all with lots of character! We have an abundance of barns in Kentucky but it's oh-so-hard to get access, they're all out in the middle of the farmers' fields. My little Prius doesn't relish bouncing over the farm fields. For that matter, neither do I ... afraid I'll get shot at. But I'll find something to show you because we have some beauties.

Great post, Claudia!

xo

:-D

heyjudephotography said...

Oh no Dotti! Will they think you're a horse thieve? Yikes! Zoom lens, zoom lens!

heyjudephotography said...

duh....thief, not thieve. :(

Dotti said...

Most are so far from the road that they're not within goodfocal length. :-(

terriporter said...

Been busy packing all day and running last minute errands before leaving on vacation. Yay!!! Escaping the heat! But I just had to take a minute and tell you how much I love these barn shots! That middle one with the gorgeous blue sky and the cow is wonderful! I am so jealous of all the barns so many of you have access to. I had to work at even finding one! Love the poem too. You are such a great finder of poems, Claudia!

stephmull said...

Love all your barn shots....gorgeous! And the poem is so fitting!

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