Throw the wood quickly
Into the stack
Winter sent the hounds
To chill the air
A nip, a warning
Prepare the kindling
Splinters like daggers
Splinters like knives
Shavings nested between blades
The black stove bones leave
Soot marks across your face
Gaskets and glue
The doors will not go back
Into place for hours
And then only by an
Unrepeatable act of magic
Replace the honeycomb
For a clean burn
Home will be warm this year
Outside the wolves howl
The owl flies silent
There is no fire great enough
To beat back the frosted hand of time
