bryanpoem

Vicki S. Bryan

Memories of an Era Gone By

Barnhands have been replaced by bulkbarns so new,
The outhouse has been replaced by a commode that flushes too.
The six- to- ten kids are limited to a few,
And all the chicken houses are gone that's true.
The house isn't scalded so the bedbugs won't bite,
Terminix and Orkin will be glad to spray "em" right.
Our dogs don't suck eggs--Wasn't that a feat?
Instead they get fat on steak bones to eat.
The lye soap is gone--rough skin no more,
There's Ivory or Dove to buy at the store.
The old smokehouse stands so lonely and still,
But there's nothing to put in it--no hogs to kill.

The old well went dry so many years ago,
Now we have running water--complete with chlorine you know.
The sugar tit's been replaced by a fancy pacifier,
There's one for every baby--even the loudest crier.
Now my granny will still take a dip of snuff,
But with a spoon and not a tree twig brush.
The old iron skillet is now an electric frypan,
And the old wood stove in now a GE, I understand.
The old quilts made by mothers so dear,
Have become almost extinct, now I hear.
Yesterday is gone and the future took it's place,
But, memories of the past can never be erased.