Monday, February 1, 2010

An Old Wagon Wheel.

An Old Wagon Wheel
~E.D. Wilbur

Upon a fence, in a new coat of red,
Brought to use, no longer dead,
For many years it hung in a shed,
One of four, the year Gramp was wed.

It first was used, for a long, long drive,
For the honeymoon, in the year o’ five.
It took two days for them to arrive,
To that old hotel, so young and alive.

On a buggy it was, with a covered top,
Gram washed it out, with an old string mop.
It went for years, and it didn’t stop,
With an old grey mare, and a clippity clop.

The buggy was black, with wheels of white,
Dashboard of leather, and it carried a light,
After Sarah’s wedding, which lasted into the night,
The mare got them home, it must have been quite a sight.

It went for the doctor, when the kids were born ,
Covered with flags, a parade to adorn,
To fatten a goose, it went for the corn,
After all this, it was looking quite worn.

It sat so dejected, in the old churchyard,
Dear Gramp was gone, we all took it hard,
The family kept to themselves, the horse stood guard,
Tho Gram smiled through her tears, she appeared very tired.

The old grey horse, to a pasture green,
The shed for the buggy, a sad, sad scene,
In days gone by, it was sharp and clean,
But it rotted away, the wheels high on a beam.

Three wheels were broken, when the hurricane hit
That old wagon shed, and when it had quit
We put the last in the porch, where Gramp used to sit,
To remind us of him, and his rare dry wit.

Upon a fence, in a new coat of red,
Brought to use, no longer dead,
For those many years it hung in a shed,
Now the wheel is on show, on a fence, instead.

15 comments:

Sunny said...

A delightful combination of picture and words. Really lovely.
Sunny :)

Patsy said...

Now that really tells a story of life gone by.
Patsy

Tess Kincaid said...

Ah, simpler days, simpler times. Lovely pic and poem!

DeniseinVA said...

I agree with Sunny, they go so well together the beautiful photo and the poem. Lovely post Jo :)

Betsy Brock said...

Oh, that was beautiful! :)

Kipling said...

I think that the photo is great, I have long been thinking about trying to match an image with a poem, but always tend to work the other way round. I would like to be able to capture something of the personal feeling that we all have when we read a poem in an image, I personally think if you can do that then you would have a great shot. I think that you have managed all that in your image, even the muted tones give the feeling of a black and white image which lends it's self to the verse very well indeed. Well done!

L. D. said...

It is a great writing. I really am impressed with the work. Great photo too. I am so interested in old things because of their history of where they have been and what they had done.

DJan said...

Yes, lovely pairing here. I was amused that "tired" is made to rhyme with "hard" (now that is very Southern, isn't it?).

Kay said...

very nice.

Carol Murdock said...

Good job Jo! They went well together! You know i love this as I'm a re-purposer for sure! XOXO

Betsy Banks Adams said...

Love your words to go with the picture, Jo... When I look at that old wheel, I keep thinking, "OH--if that wheel could talk!!!!" Bet that wheel could tell us all kinds of stories it lived throughout its life...
Hugs,
Betsy

deb said...

that is so cool the pic with the poem.....amazing how you are able to put things together like this.

do you find the poem first? or maybe you already knew it? then take a pic? or vice versa?

dj

A Brit in Tennessee said...

Sunny: Thank you, coming from a fellow blogger whose pictures are always superb, that makes me smile ;)

Benny & Patsy: Yes, the first time I read this poem, I thought the same thing, a lifetime of living.

Willow: You hit the nail on the head, simpler times, I like simpler !

Denise: Glad you liked, I wish I'd written it, at least I admire it.

Betsy: I think it has touched you the way it did me ....

Kipling: I usually choose one of my pictures, and then set out to use one of my "saved" poems to illustrate. I've been reading your photography lessons, and I'm going to put some of those recommendations to use, the next picture I shoot. I'm glad you liked this one.

L.D.: We do tend to share a love of all things old, I've noticed that about our blogs...

DJan: Yes, Must be a Southern thing ;)

Kay: Glad you liked it :)

Catol: Yes, a re-purposer that's what I am...not a junk collector :)

Betsy: I feel the same way, and wonder what tales these objects could tell, isn't that fascinating.

dj: I usually post the picture first and then the poem..
I have a "feel" in mind when i'm choosing the right poem, most times it says, what I would have liked to have ;)

George said...

I enjoyed both the poem and your photo. I'm glad First Sergeant is felling better and I also hope you won't need the bell anytime soon.

The Retired One said...

Fantastic poem...loved it!