Friday, September 14, 2007

Clothesline Nation


Tis a simple thread forbidden it seems,
In agreements protecting American dreams.
How dare the contrarian try to dry clothes,
On a line in his yard, near a neighbor's nose?

Does the bra offend? Or the working man's shirt?
The flapping sheet, or the scanty skirt?
"Haven't you a dryer?," some neighbors cry,
"You agreed that your undies would NOT touch our eyes!"

" I answer, dear friend, citing one greater Trust,
To tame mine, and my country's great lust.
For Victory Gardens won one Great War,
Victory Clotheslines may settle the present day's score."

What could say more in our time of surge
In our hour of oil, in our Month of Dirge?
Than a simple thread, strung from every tree
Eschewing rich oil, ever so free.

To Osama Bin Laden I wave my pants.
I wave my bra at all pious rants.
Free-waving clothes on a sunny day,

Bespeak independence, the old-fashioned way.


The modest clotheslines, a simple thread,
Saves the planet, raises neighborly dread --
Until we join hands, agree and stand tall,
With clothesline'd fencepost, balcony, and wall.

My neighbor's new clothesline on North Prospect Street has raised Amherst's Clothesline Quotient to new heights. Vermont has challenged the legality of association bans on clotheslines -- great idea!

Clotheslines -- great for political action, comic commentary, or just drying clothes.

6 comments:

Larry Kelley said...

Amen! Sweat equity is a wonderful thing. Walk, run, ride a bike. Let the Mid-East drown in their oil!

Isabel said...

I am a clotheslines fan. As a teenager in Europe, I remember my summers at grandma, washing our clothes in the river and pinning them on the clothesline at the back of the house.
The smell of captured sun and wind in those fabrics, the homemade soap...who could resist.
I truly enjoyed my visit to your clothesline from Amherst :)

man-x said...

I love a clothesline also, have had one all my life. I think it is relaxing to sort the clothe, hang them, the pull them in fold them and put them away. It is all how you look at it.
Love to see the clothes blowing in the breeze, no ones clothes offend me, we all have the same things, from undies to towels....
Some people make such a big deal of a clothesline.....
I love them....

Andrew Pegram said...

washing lines

http://ajpegram.blogspot.com/2010/09/washing.html

jujubean said...

Ha ha!
Oh say does that star spangled line of panties yeeet waaaaave ......oer the the land of the freeeeeeeee.... and the home of the braaaveeeee!
Jujubean

jujubean said...

Ha ha!
Oh say does that star spangled line of panties yeeet waaaaave ......oer the the land of the freeeeeeeee.... and the home of the braaaveeeee!
Jujubean