The Barn

It was like a house but larger and not so tame,
And smelled of harness and hay. We swung on the doors
And raced through the pens and stalls like frisky colts,
Hunted for kittens, and helped with the evening chores.

We made up adventures there—a small red calf
Was a princess under a spell, and the mother cow
Was the dragon that kept her enchanted. And so when she cried
We buckled on swords and sprang from our cave in the mow.

In summer vacation the barn was a circus tent,
But in winter we built a stockade where you could hide
From attacking tribes that howled in the wind and snow.
We knew that the walls would hold. You were safe inside.