Constancy

My previously coal burning 'Franklin' stove now converted to wood.

Constancy

2/26/10

Each cold winter morning

fire ritual is enacted

of splitting, breaking kindling,

putting paper in first

followed by small wood

then bigger in progression

through top round portal

cast iron cover seals

on 'Ben Franklin' stove,

an old coal burner

having pulled guts from

to accommodate split oak

once flames are established

after final honoring sequence,

bowing on one knee

with air vents open,

I strike kitchen match

upon rough sided box

watching miracle burst forth,

stored sunlight, flickering brightly,

enters large combustion chamber

and begins building momentum,

becoming a locomotive roar

from ignited hungry feeding

that I dampen expertly,

regulating an essential ingredient,

oxygen, so it burns

long, slow, sustainably hot,

modeling constancy I value.