A Cold Hearth

[just mercedes]

Many memories from this poem - I remember how startled I was by commercial fire starters, how incredibly decadent they seemed! I still don't use them - I build my teepee, and never need to do it twice. This could have been my grandmother's home. And yes, cold hearth is symbolic of the cold at the heart of the family portrayed in your poem. The fire renewed gives me some hope.

'must be done by touch' sounds a little clunky to me.

Thanks for posting this - i think it was written as a protest against the comment that a dead hearth has no smell - it's always amazing to me, where poems come from.