Kissing Carol Ann
Back in 1957
kissing Carol Ann
behind the barn
in the middle of
a windswept field
of Goldenrod
with a sudden deer
watching was
something special,
let me tell you.
Back then, bobby sox
and big barrettes
and ponytails
were everywhere.
Like many farmers,
Carol Ann's father
had a console radio
in the living room,
and every Saturday night
the family would gather 'round
with bowls of ice cream
and listen to the Grand Ole Opry.
It was beamed 'all the way'
from Nashville I was told
more than once since
I was from Chicago
and sometimes wore a tie
so how could I know.
On my first visit,
I asked Carol Ann
if the Grand Ole Opry was
the Mormon Tabernacle Choir
of country music and she said
not to say that to her father.
She suggested I just tap
my foot to the music
and let him watch me.
Otherwise I'd best be
quiet and say 'Yup, '
'Nope' or 'Maybe'
if asked any questions
which she didn't think
would happen.
No need to say
much more, she said,
and after a few visits,
I understood why.
Over time, I learned
to tap my foot pretty good
to the music because
when I'd come to visit,
her father would insist
I have a bowl of ice cream
with the family.
I liked the ice cream
but not so much
the Grand Ole Opry.
I'd been weaned
on Sinatra in the city.
Big difference,
let me tell you.
But back in 1957
kissing Carol Ann
behind the barn
was something special
since we couldn't do
much more until
I found employment.
Only then, her father said,
could we get married.
I found no jobs
in town, however,
for a bespectacled man
with degrees in English.
Still, I always found
the weekend drives
from Chicago worth
the gas my Rambler drank
because kissing Carol Ann
brought a bit of heaven
down behind that barn,
especially on summer nights
when fireflies were
the only stars we saw
when our eyes
popped open.
It was like
the Fourth of July
with tiny sparklers
twinkling everywhere.
Now,55 years later,
Carol Ann sometimes mentions
fireflies at dusk as we
dance behind the cows
to coax them into the barn
for the night.
I'm still not too good
with cows despite
my John Deere cap,
plaid shirt and overalls
which proves, she says,
that all that kissing
behind the barn in 1957
took the boy out of the city
but not the city out of the boy.
'Hee Haw' is all I ever
say in response because
I know why I'm there.
It's to keep tapping
the cows on the rump
till we get them
back in the barn
so we can go back
in the house
and start with
a kiss and later on
come back downstairs
for two big bowls
of ice cream.
poem by Donal Mahoney
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Related quotes
What Is A Barn?
A barn is many things-
A barn is a fun place
To run, romp, and play.
It is also a place of refuge,
On hot or stormy days.
A barn is a storage place
For all your tools, grain, and hay.
It is also a place to unwind,
When you have had a tough day.
A barn becomes God's sanctuary,
When you begin to pray
It is also a place of work,
When work is needing done.
A barn is a place
Where freindships can be made
It is also a place
Where new life is born.
A barn is a place
To try with all your might
And finally when its doors are closed,
'Tis safety from the night.
A barn is a place for horses,
And it is a place for cows
A barn is also a hayloft,
Full of little meows
A barn is the Inn
Where our Savior was born
God, our Savior,
Christ, our Lord.
A barn is a work place,
A barn is a play place
A barn is a great place
A barn is a training ring...
A barn is..
Well, when it comes right
Down to it,
A barn is everything!
poem by Macy Dvirnak
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Carol's Bright Smile
Carol with her sparkly eyes, always has a great big smile.
Happy to see me even when she's blue,
she is sincere person through and through.
Carol is supportive of my writing for she is a loving soul,
Carol compliments me to bring me up when I'm low.
Carol thought of me at Christmastime,
she is very giving and kind.
Carol is always busy and on the go,
she helps her family who loves her so.
Carol loves her grandchild who lives quite near,
she babysits her grandchild when she's here.
Carol has style and dresses quite slick,
she goes out dressed fashionably chick.
I always love how Carol does her hair,
either a ponytail, loose curls with a flair.
Carol's from Boston and soon will go back,
her bright sunshine is what the Dorchester will lack.
Written by Suzae Chevalier on February 5,2012
poem by Christina Sunrise
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Carol's My Friend
Carol with her sparkly eyes, always has a great big smile.
Happy to see me even when she's blue,
she is sincere person through and through.
Carol is supportive of my writing for she is a loving soul,
Carol compliments me to bring me up when I'm low.
Carol thought of me at Christmastime,
she is very giving and kind.
Carol is always busy and on the go,
she helps her family who loves her so.
Carol loves her grandchild who lives quite near,
she babysits her grandchild when she's here.
Carol has style and dresses quite slick,
she goes out dressed fashionably chick.
I always love how Carol does her hair,
either a ponytail, loose curls with a flair.
Carol's from Boston and soon will go back,
her bright sunshine is what the Dorchester will lack.
Written by Suzae Chevalier on February 5,2012
poem by Suzae Chevalier
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An Old Barn By The Side Of The Fields Of Hay
an old barn by the side of the fields of hay
is nothing but an old barn to your eyes
miguelito
this barn has been here ten years ago and it will be here
for another more years with you
father always
had it repaired before he died and when i take charge
i still come here and think once in a while
what is in this barn
that refuses to be broken
something that negates
the art of losing
it is the memory of my youth
it was here where the hay smelt pungent
for the first time
it was here when i was first
deflowered
changed
don't laugh, it was here that i felt
the first squirt of
my manhood, and her name was not that important
in fact,
she was laughing because i was trembling and she was
so crazy
trying to really teach me, in this old barn that refuses to be broken
in all the years
when our father teased us: weaklings.
poem by Ric S. Bastasa
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The Barn and the Down
t stood in the sunset sky
Like the straight-backed down,
Many a time - the barn
At the edge of town,
So huge and dark that it seemed
It was the hill
Till the gable's precipice proved
It impossible.
Then the great down in the west
Grew into sight,
A barn stored full to the ridge
With black of night;
And the barn fell to a barn
Or even less
Before critical eyes and its own
Late mightiness.
But far down and near barn and I
Since then have smiled,
Having seen my new cautiousness
By itself beguiled
To disdain what seemed the barn
Till a few steps changed
It past all doubt to the down;
So the barn was avenged.
poem by Edward Thomas
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Ballad Of Carol Lynn
Loving you has gotten weird
You'll see the sun hanging low down by your window
And all the rain left in the world
Won't bring you home again
Oh, Carol Lynn
And trusting you has gotten strange
You'll close the door when the cold has gotten in
And all the love left in the world
Won't keep you warm again
Oh, Carol Lynn
When you need a friend to be there for you
I won't be one who will help you out
And when you need someone who can let you in
You can count me out
Oh, Carol Lynn
When your life has worn you out
You'll have the past left for you to think about
And all the money in the world
Can't take you back again
Oh, Carol Lynn
Oh, Carol Lynn
song performed by by Whiskeytown
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Hillbilly Hollywood
I can still remember my first guitar
Bright and shiny like a brand new car
Even took it with me when I went to school
And I practiced every day till I got real good
I learned every lick on the radio
From wabash cannon to go johnny go
I majored in rhythm with a minor in blues
Then I hit the road with my blue suede shoes
And I dreamed of seeing my name in lights
Grand ole opry on on a saturday night
Standing where my heroes stood
Hillbilly hollywood
I played some bars where you never wanna go
From oklahoma city down to tupelo
My ears would be ringing like an old fire bell
When Id lay me down in some cheap hotel
And I dreamed of seeing my name in lights
Grand ole opry on a saturday night
Standing where my heroes stood
Hillbilly hollywood
And I pray before too long
They will hear my song
And I dreamed of seeing my name in lights
Grand ole opry on a saturday night
Standing where my heroes stood
I dreamed grand old opry on a saturday night standing . .
Hillbilly hollywood hillbilly hollywood hillbilly hollywood
song performed by by Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Another night, I dreamed I saw my father sweeping out the barn floor clean, and would not suffer the wheat to be brought in the barn. He appeared to me to be in anger.
quote by Joanna Southcott
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Carol
Oh carol, dont let him
Steal your heart away.
Well Ive got to learn to dance
If it takes me all night and day.
Well come into my machine
So we can move on out.
I know a jumping little joint
Where we can jump and shout.
Its not too far back on the highway
Not too long a ride.
You take your car along
And you park it outside.
A little cutie takes your hat
And you can thank her, maam,
cos every time youre gonna drive,
You find the joint is jammed.
Oh carol, dont let him
Steal your heart away.
Well Ive got to learn to dance
If it takes me all night and day. auw.
Well if you want to hear some music
Like the boys all play,
Hold tight, tap your foot,
Dont let it carry you away.
Dont let the heat overcome you
cos they play so loud
While the music will treat you
When they get a crowd.
Well you can dance
I know you will, you thought.
I got my eyes on you baby,
cos you dance so good.
Dont let him
Steal your heart away.
Ive got to learn to dance
If it takes me all night and day.
Well Ive got to learn to dance
If it takes you all night and day.
song performed by by Beatles
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The Great Fire of Ingersoll
Written at the time of the disaster.
'Twas on a pleasant eve in May.
Just as the sun shed its last ray,
The bell it rang, citizens to warn,
For lo ! a fire appears in barn.
An ancient barn near hotel stood,
The joining buildings all were wood ;
This barn a relic of the past,
There farmers' horses were made fast.
Our once fair town is now in woe,
And we have had our Chicago ;
But soon a nobler town will rise,
For Ingersoll's all enterprise.
For water far town need not seek,
As there is river and the creek
Just find the means it to apply
And then all fires must quickly die.
poem by James McIntyre
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Cowgirl & The Dandy
In the airport lounge, he sat with his cane and durby hat
The grandest man that i had ever seen
Outside the heavy rains had grounded all the planes
So i asked him if he'd like some company
In my rhinestone-studded suit
And my cowgirl high-heel boots
I must have been a site for him to see
But he said, "pull up a chair"
As i fumble with my hair
A more unlikely pair you'll never see
I was mogan david wine
He was chablis fifty-nine
But there we sat
The cowgirl and the dandy
He was ski resorts in aspen
And summers in paris
I was grand ole opry nashville, tennessee
Chorus:
The cowgirl and the dandy
As different as can be
But it seemed so right that rainy night in tennessee
Then somewhere in between
His harvey's bristol cream
And the beer that i kept sippin' at his table
We somehow came together for a night of stormy wheater
Now there's a little bit of class in this old cabin
An' there's a little country in the dandy
Repeat chorus
I was mogan david wine
He was chablis fifty-nine
But there we sat
The cowgirl and the dandy
He was ski resorts in aspen
And summers in paris
I was grand ole opry nashville, tennessee
He was ski resorts in aspen
And summers in paris
I was grand ole opry nashville, tennessee
song performed by by Dolly Parton
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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One Afternnon that Summer.
Despite the fact
that other local kids
were in the hay barn playing
Jane stood at the barn doors
looking in apprehensively
and you stood beside her
waiting for her to move in
or say something
but she just stood looking in
are we allowed in to play?
she asked
sure as long as we don't
cause damage to the hay bales
you replied
and she sniffed the air
and moved in
and looked around
the huge barn
with its semi dark
and smells of hay
and captured sun
and warmth
the other kids played
but took no notice
of Jane or you
as you entered
closed the doors
and moved around
the hay strewn floor
haven't you been
in a hay barn before?
you asked looking
at her bright summer dress
and white socks and sandals
yes years ago
she said
as she paused
at the edge
of the nearest hay bale
and sat down
and you sat beside her
in the semi dark
with sunlight making
small light through cracks
and holes in the walls
I don't like mice and rats
she said
and I saw one once
in another barn
and it frightened me
you sat in silence
for a few moments
taking in the air and smells
and then the other kids
ran off out side
into the sunlight
talking of playing
down by the pond
and catching things
you sat still
until their voices died off
and then she said
why have you
brought me in here?
you looked at her eyes
in the dull light
and her lips moving
with their small speech
to be alone with you
without prying eyes
you said
oh I see
she replied
and stood up
and climbed upwards
on the hay bales
with you following
behind her
seeing her sway
as she moved
her hands pulling
her upwards
her legs taking each step
onto a hay bale carefully
then having reach
high up in the barn
she sat down
and you sat beside her
if my father saw me here
he'd think things
Jane said
and she looked at you
with her large eyes
what things? you asked
watching her lay back
with her hands
behind her head
I don't know
he never said
she muttered
as she lay there
she lifted a leg
and her dress
slipped downwards
revealing a glimpse
of naked thigh
that's parents for you
you uttered
never saying
what they think
or saying things
but don't explain
you lay down
beside her
on the hay
as outside the barn
the soft sound
of pitter patter
on the roof
of sudden rain.
poem by Terry Collett
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Cowgirl The Dandy
In the airport lounge, he sat with his cane and durby hat
The grandest man that I had ever seen
Outside the heavy rains had grounded all the planes
So I asked him if hed like some company
In my rhinestone-studded suit
And my cowgirl high-heel boots
I must have been a site for him to see
But he said, pull up a chair
As I fumble with my hair
A more unlikely pair youll never see
I was mogan david wine
He was chablis fifty-nine
But there we sat
The cowgirl and the dandy
He was ski resorts in aspen
And summers in paris
I was grand ole opry nashville, tennessee
Chorus:
The cowgirl and the dandy
As different as can be
But it seemed so right that rainy night in tennessee
Then somewhere in between
His harveys bristol cream
And the beer that I kept sippin at his table
We somehow came together for a night of stormy wheater
Now theres a little bit of class in this old cabin
An theres a little country in the dandy
Repeat chorus
I was mogan david wine
He was chablis fifty-nine
But there we sat
The cowgirl and the dandy
He was ski resorts in aspen
And summers in paris
I was grand ole opry nashville, tennessee
He was ski resorts in aspen
And summers in paris
I was grand ole opry nashville, tennessee
song performed by by Dolly Parton
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The Red Barn
There was once...
a red barn..
And there
was nothing in
it.
All there was
in the red
barn was just
hay.
And that was all
there was in
there.
The poor red barn
was on its own.
Nobody owns it.
So the red barn
is by itself.
poem by Lisa Parks
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Epilogue
Carol, every violet has
Heaven for a looking-glass!
Every little valley lies
Under many-clouded skies;
Every little cottage stands
Girt about with boundless lands.
Every little glimmering pond
Claims the mighty shores beyond—
Shores no seamen ever hailed,
Seas no ship has ever sailed.
All the shores when day is done
Fade into the setting sun,
So the story tries to teach
More than can be told in speech.
Beauty is a fading flower,
Truth is but a wizard's tower,
Where a solemn death-bell tolls,
And a forest round it rolls.
We have come by curious ways
To the light that holds the days;
We have sought in haunts of fear
For that all-enfolding sphere:
And lo! it was not far, but near.
We have found, O foolish-fond,
The shore that has no shore beyond.
Deep in every heart it lies
With its untranscended skies;
For what heaven should bend above
Hearts that own the heaven of love?
Carol, Carol, we have come
Back to heaven, back to home.
poem by Alfred Noyes
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All I really want to be is boring. When people talk about me, I'd like them to say, Carol's basically a short Bill Bradley. Or, Carol's kind of like Al Gore in a skirt.
quote by Carol Moseley Braun
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Lily, Picasso & The Golden Mean
The bride wore knee sox.
Kissing the ground her mother walked on,
Taking me back in time to a place
Like no other I’ve ever seen before—
Where sitting on a park bench,
Carl Jung was eating ice cream
Wondering if he had enough traveler’s checks,
He hadn’t been to Phoenix but he would someday—
He thought about the story of Cinderella
And how the myth had grown
From one of war & disaster
To one of victory & incest in the dark,
She bit her father’s earlobe & swallowed
His diamond earring
Should she tell her mother?
Who worshipped him like a God?
But she kept her silence & made great paintings
In the barn, murals too big to mention
& Her lesbian lover crept in from the neighbor’s farm,
A dusty fairy with broken teeth
And scraped kneecaps
Just like her sister,
Her identical twin with Botox frozen face—
poem by Johnny Noir
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Let It Be.
She always had that, Let It Be, album
On the turntable, with him, the latest uncle,
Sitting beside her on the couch or in her bed,
Smoking, making out, and you were told to go
Outside and play and leave her be, and so
You’d go out and play or find some mischief
To do with Hawksmith, who always seemed
To know how you felt, what made you tick,
And he’d say, let’s go up to Grundle’s barn,
Let’s go make out in the hay, and he’d laugh,
And so you’d go to the barn or down by Mullen’s
Pond and watch him fish. She always played
That darn Let It Be album when she was high,
Had it up loud, the music blaring out over
The yard, and she and him, laughing and cursing,
And when you used to creep back to the house
Late at night the lights were on and you’d hear
The Beatles’ album going round and round on
The turntable without reason or any sound.
poem by Terry Collett
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The Hogarth Experiment Part 4
Professor Robert Hogarth sat
and looked out the window,
what he saw each day amazed him.
Where the remnants of his burnt out laboratory,
he watch each day the quickness of the new growth there.
Tiny shrubs were the next day mature plants.
He noted in his journal,
which kept hidden, everything he saw.
Each day the remains of his laboratory
slowly disappeared from sight under a sea of green foliage.
It was not only the plants
that were growing out of proportion.
Other things much more scary had begun to appear.
These made him order that none of his staff
go out during the day under any circumstance.
It was almost dusk when the empty battery was found.
The police notified the Army,
but couldn’t give them no explanation
as to why the soldiers had disappeared,
other than all three men were gone
leaving behind their belongs and their guns.
The Army’s reply was that they would send
their own investigation team down in the morning.
The reports of animal deaths and human disappearances
were mounting and the police were mystified.
They went to the unusual step
of arming their officers on the beat.
Each had to sign for a weapon
and ten round of ammunition
before leaving the station.
Not knowing the threat that had come to the valley,
they were not taking chances.
It was felt that just a truncheon was not enough protection
from what ever was doing the killings adductions.
The night was quiet and no new incidents were reported.
However as the dawn broke
a humming sound broke the stillness of the morning.
John Fairchild and his son Peter
came out of the barn
as several shadows passed over them.
John told his son to get back indoors
as he ran into the barn and grabbed a pitchfork.
Peter ran as fast as he could
to the farmhouse without looking back.
Getting inside he closed the door
and raced to the window to look outside.
He saw his father fighting a giant insect with the pitchfork.
Peter went to the living room
and grabbed his father’s shotgun from the wall,
then went to the drawer where the shotgun shells were kept.
He shoved as many as he could
in his pockets and loaded two into the gun.
He opened the door
to see one of the insects
had knocked his father to the ground
and had its stinger poised.
To be continued…
poem by David Harris
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The Birth
he was born on a dark lonely night
and not a soul was in sight.
his mother was driving home
on that starry night, when she started
to feel the contractions.
she knew right then that she would
have to take action.
she pulled alongside that old country road
and her stomach she did hold
.
when she felt that waterbag bust
and in GOD she put her trust.
she asked the LORD what she should do
for she knew not what to do.
she heard a voice so soft and gentle
that told her to stay calm.
for this was a special child
that would be born this night
and that everything was going
to be allright.
she pushed the front seat back
as far as it would go
and took off her clothing so
that she could see.
the pains became so severe
and a head did appear.
she pushed with all her might
so that this child could be free.
for this was the way
it was meant to be.
as the child started to come out
from her lungs came a shout.
this child came out with such ease
and she felt a gentle breeze
as if it was a whisper upon her face
and she knew it was through GODS grace.
with a penknife she cut the cord.
and cleaned him up the best she could.
she wrapped him within her coat
and put the heater on
and drove back to a distant farm.
when she got to the farm
and banged upon the door.
when no one answered
she knealt down on the floor.
again she called upon the LORD
and asked what she should do.
he told her to look towads the barn
for there was a light as bright as day
and the farmer was baling hay.
as she got to the barn door
she collapsed in sheer exhaustion.
when she finally opened up her eyes
on the hay she did lay.
and beside her lay her child.
and the farmer told her she was
out for quite a while.
but the ambulance was on the way
and that he could not move her
in fear of jeopardizing her life
and that she was cleaned up
by his lovely wife.
now the farmers wife was
a religious woman
who believed that nothing
happens by chance.
and at this child she did glance.
she said that he had an aura
of light above his head
just like the bible which she had read.
she looked at this childs mother
and asked her this:
'is this coincidence or is this
a sign from above
that he would be in a barn
like christ was in the manger?
she recalled that gentle voice and
what it had said.
that a special child would be born on this night.
now you tell me.
was she wrong, or was she right?
poem by Louis Rams
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