Old Barn

[Carl E.H. Iobst]

Old barn sittin’ on the edge of a grown up field

roof fallin’ in, boards comin’ off, covered up with kudzu.

How many mules did the old barn shelter;

tractors with implements—hand tools and such?

Old barn made it through the flood of 1940;

held up through the blizzard of ’93.

Old barn heard all the kids playin’ in the stalls,

seen the teenagers lovin’ up in the hayloft too.

A way of life that came, thrived, and now’s

goin’—old barn’s been through it all.

My granddaddy built the old barn with

a quick mind and strong, rough hands.

He’s no longer here—been gone almost 20 years;

yet the old barn just lives on and on.

Carl Iobst, July 1, 2010