A clothesline was a news forecast
To neighbors passing by.
There were no secrets you could keep
When clothes were hung to dry.
It also was a friendly link,
For neighbors always knew
If company had stopped on by
To spend a night or two.
For then you’d see the fancy sheets
And towels upon the line;
You’d see the company table clothes
With intricate design.
The line announced a baby’s birth
To folks who lived inside,
As brand-new infant clothes were hung
So carefully with pride.
The ages of the children could
So readily be known,
By watching how he sizes changed,
You’d know how much they’d grown.
It also told when illness struck,
As extra sheets were hung;
Then nightclothes, and a bathrobe, too,
Haphazardly were strung.
It said, “Gone on vacation now,”
When lines hung limp and bare.
It told, “We’re back!” when full lines sagged,
With not an inch to spare.
New folks in town were scorned upon
If wash was dingy gray,
As neighbors raised their brows, and looked
Disgustingly away.
But clotheslines now are of the past,
For dryers make work less.
Now what goes on inside a home
Is anybody’s guess.
I really miss that way of life.
It was a friendly sign,
When neighbors knew each other best,
By what hung on the line!
“Designed to promote Biblical living for today’s Christian Woman.”
It is our highest desire that this publication encourages and edifies ladies in their daily walk with the Lord and strengthens them in their God-given role as wives, mothers, daughters, and servants of the Lord Jesus Christ.