ponderosa pine logs
set mortise to tenon
organic esthetics
hewn craftsmanship
old as the bible
sweet domicile
trussed for a legacy span
bearing high pride of shelter
for countless descendants
generations of households
embraced by a warm
earthen finger-laid chinking
each lifetime absorbed
into honey grained wood
adding layers of life
a progressive patina
of purpose and promise
of laughter and love
fieldstone fireplace
gatherings find
conversation and argument
personal narratives
graceful and awkward
by turn sweep the hearth
with their histories
bundled and broomed
keeping tidy and neat
the comestible content of
iron-hung pots and potential
the foodstuff of character
timbered and toiling
to fatten the future
From my book Ephemera