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Sheets In The Wind

by David Knape

I remember sheets hung on wash lines
and how they rustled in the wind
how they struggled to free themselves
from a distance you could hear them flapping

I remember steel posts
and wires that dipped and sagged
when too many sheets were hung
momma cautioned
Make sure those sheets don't touch the ground

I remember clothes pins
in a homemade sack
wooden pins with a spring mechanism
that clipped the sheets to wires
falling off on occasion
lost in the grass until
found by the lawnmower

I remember the smell of sheets
hung in rays of sunshine
that gave such pleasure at night
sleeping between them was heavenly
linens that crackled
with such crispy freshness
you felt doused in sunshine

I remember momma saying
go out and pick the clothes
and I remember we carried them inside
without a laundry basket
our bodies swaddled in sheets
our heads poking out to see the path

I remember clotheslines
with great fondness
as memories of my youth
and wish we still had them
to teach our children chores
the value of soap and water and sunshine

And I wish I could hang poetic lines
as crisp and pure as those sheets
filled with warmth and goodness
and lasting memories

Like sheets in the wind.


© d.knape
May 5, 2014
More "Once Upon A Line" - Light verse and poetry by d.knape
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