Our county fair runs this week, and I love to go and reminisce. I was a member of 4-H for several years as a child, and it was one of my happiest memories. I raised and showed poultry (and one goat) for the fair, so when I go and visit, that's the barn I like to go through most. I love the sights and sounds, the kids, the birds, even the smells! I took my notebook with me this year, and wrote down all the sensory details that I could, and lo and behold, a poem emerged!
The Poultry Barn
Done...
Pledges pledged
Chicks grown
Grain fed
Books filled
Tests taken
Projects raised
Questions answered
Shirts pressed
Hair plaited
Poultry transported
Boots worn
Now...
Belt buckles shine
Hands hold
Tensions rise
Sweat beads
Dust gathers
Heat presses
Roosters crow
Hens cluck
Families photograph
Onlookers murmur
Feathers ruffle
Ducks quack
Hopes soar
Judges announce...
Visit Tabatha for the poetry roundup this week at Tabatha Yeatts: The Opposite of Indifference.
Good job with all those details, Holly! I was feeling nervous for her...
ReplyDeleteThank you, Tabatha. I loved watching those kiddos. I remember how it felt!
DeleteI love hearing about your life growing up, Holly, & this captures the excitement as well as the nervousness. Great verbs!
ReplyDeleteI like this so much! And the last line is a killer...
ReplyDeleteLOVE this! I was never 4-H, but I entered in the Junior and Open Class Floriculture. So I always go straight for the flowers at the Fairfield County Fair (our favorite, and Ohio's last--in October).
ReplyDeleteHurray for 4-H! I competed in canning, so we would race to see if our jars had ribbons, I think having to wait and hear an announcement is 100 times harder! Nice job capturing all of the sights, sounds and emotions of the fair.
ReplyDeleteLoved this poem, Holly. What a gift it must be to grow up next to a poultry barn - sounds of life so early in the morning! :)
ReplyDelete