The Clothesline

 

She glanced out the kitchen window

And saw her clothesline

Faded orange baling twine in short lengths

Knotted together

Clothespins – weathered gray wooden ones

And faded blue plastic

Riding in the breeze

 

It must have been over two years ago

She was hanging out the laundry

One load done

She was half-way through the second load

When the line broke

In the Midwest, yards are grass

In Bisbee, yards are dirt

Two loads of clothes – Bisbee powder-brown

 

He laughed. He said it was no big deal

He went to the barn and came back

With a handful of twine from the hay bales

Bright orange

By the time the laundry was washed

He had strung the new clothesline

 

Over two years and she has never replaced it

It reminds her of him

Calm, resourceful, strong, humorous

One of a kind

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                Kelly Tighe

 

Previous Page

Table of Contents

 

Mirage Home Page

Next Page