The Olde Barn



The OLDE BARN;                
                                 Part One:

No longer Proud, No longer Grande.
At the foot of the hillside;
                                  Lo, Here I stand.

Through summer's heat
                            and winter's cold.
Weathering away, and getting OLD.

I remember when they put me here,
It must have been about six score year.

They dragged great logs from yonder wood.
They built me strong, they knew they could.
The red oak was felled and hewed,
to square my sturdy frame.
Those strong and giant trees.
would be never again the same.

They bored my ribs, they notched my back.
the white pine became my skin.
With cedar, my roof was thatched,
all over with shingles thin.

From foundation stones,
I climbed, high up toward the skies.
Along my sides, they cut some squares.
They nailed in window lights,
these to serve so very well,
became for me, my eyes.

To the North, I peer  across railroad tracks,
but the stones I cannot see,
of stalwart MEN,
who hewed and sawed;
to cut and fashion ME.

A cock they perched upon my peak,
then wired ME to the ground,
to ward away,  lightning strikes,
with all their thunder sound.

At first, they brought the horses gray,
where right beneath their chin,
it only required a little nod,
to reach the brown-oats bin.

At night on four, the mare would stand,
to sleep the hours sound.
Whilst just below the dappled flanks,
her foal lay on the ground.

On hot and sultry summer nights,
I'd watch the white clouds pile,
then brace for storms,
most often wild and vile;

At first a calm, no leaf dare stir,
nor devils of the dust.
Then com'st a whispering wind,
a wise man would never trust,
for shelter soon, he must seek,
from wind and rain, he must.

Dust devils no longer swirl,
up and down the garden path.
They now crouch low, to resign their fate,
to the coming tempest's wrath.

Tumbling weeds are pressed fast, against the picket fence, til 'morrows sun dries their spiny legs, and then, gentle zephyrs roll them back and forth,
                                                    in this the world of MEN.
On my wires,  I sense the fires,
as St. Elmo's currents creep.
Unlike a ship, I have no hull,
to sail the briny deep.                            {cont'd}
Font size:
Collection  PDF     
 

Submitted by WerterBuch on February 03, 2016

Modified on March 05, 2023

1:55 min read
137

Quick analysis:

Scheme XX AXA XBB XX CCADXD XEXE XFXGXF XHIXH JKXK XEXE AKXK GLXL XMXMJM XNXN XIXXXA
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 2,180
Words 377
Stanzas 15
Stanza Lengths 2, 3, 3, 2, 6, 4, 6, 5, 4, 4, 4, 4, 6, 4, 6

Discuss the poem The Olde Barn with the community...

0 Comments

    Translation

    Find a translation for this poem in other languages:

    Select another language:

    • - Select -
    • 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
    • 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
    • Español (Spanish)
    • Esperanto (Esperanto)
    • 日本語 (Japanese)
    • Português (Portuguese)
    • Deutsch (German)
    • العربية (Arabic)
    • Français (French)
    • Русский (Russian)
    • ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
    • 한국어 (Korean)
    • עברית (Hebrew)
    • Gaeilge (Irish)
    • Українська (Ukrainian)
    • اردو (Urdu)
    • Magyar (Hungarian)
    • मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
    • Indonesia (Indonesian)
    • Italiano (Italian)
    • தமிழ் (Tamil)
    • Türkçe (Turkish)
    • తెలుగు (Telugu)
    • ภาษาไทย (Thai)
    • Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
    • Čeština (Czech)
    • Polski (Polish)
    • Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
    • Românește (Romanian)
    • Nederlands (Dutch)
    • Ελληνικά (Greek)
    • Latinum (Latin)
    • Svenska (Swedish)
    • Dansk (Danish)
    • Suomi (Finnish)
    • فارسی (Persian)
    • ייִדיש (Yiddish)
    • հայերեն (Armenian)
    • Norsk (Norwegian)
    • English (English)

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this poem to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "The Olde Barn" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Mar. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/44359/the-olde-barn>.

    Become a member!

    Join our community of poets and poetry lovers to share your work and offer feedback and encouragement to writers all over the world!

    March 2024

    Poetry Contest

    Join our monthly contest for an opportunity to win cash prizes and attain global acclaim for your talent.
    3
    days
    13
    hours
    57
    minutes

    Special Program

    Earn Rewards!

    Unlock exciting rewards such as a free mug and free contest pass by commenting on fellow members' poems today!

    Browse Poetry.com

    Quiz

    Are you a poetry master?

    »
    Who wrote the 1892 poem Gunga Din?
    A Rudyard Kipling
    B Alfred, Lord Tennyson
    C Ho Xuan Huong
    D Walt Whitman