Woodsmoke
Rent from DeepDyve- Woodsmoke
Up the hollow, morning smoke graces the old man’s chimney And quietly decrees another day has triumphed over sleep and death—
Used to see it in the gray of dawn But now it comes as late as seven— It gnaws at me— Sometimes I gaze out the kitchen window And pray the smoke into being.
It creeps on the roofline if rain or snow, Boils skyward if humidity’s low— Better than red sky to hail the weather.
Some morning late I’ll see no smoke Pull my shawl around my shoulders And slowly walk up the hollow To find him sick—or gone—
Not this morning, thank you, Lord. [End Page 124]
Wayne Caldwell has two novels out from Random House, Cataloochee (2007) and Requiem by Fire (2010). He works as business manager for Ambiance Interiors, a family business, and lives near where he was raised in Candler, North Carolina.
