Morning on the Mountain

Morning on the Mountain

I wake up to the woodpecker
in his lumberjack underwear,
widening a circle.
It is cold and my room is a tombstone,
measured and fitted with gloom.
It would be a good idea to build a fire,
but I have used all the gift wrappings
from Christmas & all the grocery bags.
I have used the construction site kindling
& the saved newspaper from my neighbor.
There is a wall heater.
I turn it on, even though it loves to toy
with the light bill & has a passion
for a pricey existence.
I make coffee, warm and strong,
strong enough to put on boots
and stomp through the house.
I don't care what it does,
as long as it remains hot,
which is no small feat because the pot
dallies with automatic cut off.
When I look outside, the stormdoor
has frosted.
I am face to face with ice.
Pretty & white..much cleaner looking
than its usual self.
I open it too and can see the tail of my dog.
She is buried under three blankets.
She looks warmer than I feel.
She is a friendly girl with a wide mouthed grin.
If she notices a prowler, she is not above,
inviting them in.
I am pleased that the sun is struggling
to cross the high ridge.
It is morning on the mountain
once again.

 

Reviews

[Ed Hart]

i used to bundle up and go outside and push the wheel barrel on different deer paths through the woods until it was full chunks and slivers and twigs of old wood and then come back and start my first fire of the day...it's just part of it...thanks for the memories...ed

[Donald Meikle]

I was warm when I sat down to read this, key word was! Love mountains, live in a swamp.

[Emily B]

Some days, I look at the hills and I feel secure in their shadows. It is a well-known secret that some mornings I run away to the mountains. I drive past my work and up the hill and keep driving until the sun starts to rise and then I find a likely place and turn around. Driving down, with the view of the valleys and the effects of gravity and that certain slant of light--is the closest I ever come to feeling like I might/could fly away.

Some days I recognize that feeling in your words. :)