Sometimes, as I start the fire in the mornings I think of stories I read about the pioneers scavenging the prairies for buffalo chips to keep the fire going, when they had no wood or dry wood!
Not only a fire hot enough to keep their home warm but hot enough to cook on!
It makes me so thankful for the old wood pile.
I wrote this poem for my friend's parents who moved into a retirement home without a wood-stove this fall, so they gifted to us some of their wood.
When I asked my friend what they would like for a bit of a thank-you she suggested a poem about a wood-pile, recalling how glad her dad always was for theirs!
Oh humble unsung hero; both of now and days long dead
It fills far more than corners in the cellar or the shed
For it is the begetter of winter-weather reprieve
Where we gather together to enjoy a cozy eve
With *‘Schizzel’ full of popcorn and a *schoze so full of
book
Or maybe we are playing games like Lost Heir, Uno, Rook
And all the riches in the world could never make us smile
Like humble, good times we enjoy, thanks to the old wood
pile
Now dad can put his sock feet up; set anxious thoughts to
rest
Knowing that though the storm may rage, feathered will be his
nest
And all his little fledglings need not dread the days to
come
But live the best life has to give in simple joys of home
For wealth is not the number of its dollars we accrue
But rather gold-framed echoes of love’s happy me and you
Where the treasure of memories is worth each homespun
while
And made ever the sweeter by the grin of a wood pile
The flicker of flame-dancers is a fine thing to behold
They leap and crackle where the warmth of it never grows
old
And everyone is gladder while the wild of winter wails
With woodstove full of fire to grant comfort from its
gales
So lest we overlook its quiet nook and modest pose
And lest we reserve poetry for romance of love’s rose
Let’s take a moment to applaud the gift of wooded isle
And thank God for the beauty-blessing of a big wood pile
© Janet Martin
* Schizzel- Pennsylvania Dutch Word for bowl
*schoze- Pennsylvania Dutch Word for lap
