i See A Man Gathering Wood

He is walking around his yard

Picking up fallen tree branches and smaller sticks

Dressed in black pants and what once was a white shirt

Now it is all marked up and dirty

I wonder why he has a smile on his face ?

I can't see anybody with him

Although I can hear him talking to himself

At first I thought he was singing

Because the words had a nice ring to them

There was a few words that rhymed but not many

I have been listening to him for hours

They are different words every time

It is music to his ears

I have never heard of the stories that he speaks

Part story part poem

It could be called a Stoem

Even though I understand where he is coming from

He speaks of the truth

What it is like to live in the world today

It is not always easy

Sometimes it can be a real pain in the butt

There is a strange mystery to life

One that few people try to understand or get to think about

He shoos away a bug from his head

Instantly he starts talking about bugs

What reason do they have to be in this world

I guess the same reason I have to be here

What makes us so special and unique

A bug lives the life it knows

Trying to survive

In any circumstance

It does not judge

It does not curse the world for being difficult

It accepts it's differences from the world around it

A lesson we should all learn

It would be wonderful if we stopped the bickering

The needless chatter

A bug makes a sound

I am not sure if it is a mating call

It could be a warning to other bugs

Not to do what it did

Stay away at all costs

Why would it tell other bugs

When they wouldn't tell him

If they were in the same predicament

It doesn't matter

This bug can't have any education

It is simple one of billions of bugs

On the outside it looks plain and ordinary

Inside it is something really special

I see a fire burning

The middle aged man adds wood to the fire

The fire burns bright at times

The flames soar high in the air

Then other times it looks as if it is almost burnt out

Within seconds from the last moment

I see the flames burst into new heights

Unexpected and quite scary

Even the man steps back in surprise

He adds as many pieces as he can

Into this small back yard fire pit

By slowly removing the cover

Sometimes he puts so much in

He uses a poker to move the burnt ones around

By turning them over

So they burn evenly on the other side

I never heard of such a thing

The wood came from a bigger branch

Separated from what once was alive and well

That could be many years old

It's not it's fault it became broken

The day is extremely hot

I see the man stop to drink

What I first thought was water

Then as I move in closer for a clearer picture

It is a form of water

Gaterade or Powerade

To help the man keep hydrated

Replacing the electrolytes he has lost

He is out there for hours

With all the bending

He has to be exhausted

The rest of the yard shows very little activity

The light from the fire lights up the world in darkness

Giving it new meaning

I know this man well

Because I am this man

It is not until after midnight

When I finally come in from the outside

Ready for a refreshing and quite cleansing shower in many ways

Washing off the smoke and the soot

Only part of the remains from a pile of debris

I noticed something

I have clearly missed

There were a few pieces put aside and not burned

I wonder if were chosen because of their odd shape

Their strength because they could not be broken into a smaller piece and added like the rest

To the burning pile

In the fire I see a ball of energy

Always sparkling and sometimes crackling

Making the most of the oxygen that feeds on naturally

Four hours later

A waste of time when we could be on Facebook and on Twitter

Talking to people we really don't even know

Telling them about our experience

Showing thousands of pictures

Capturing each second as it happens

Instead we chose to unknowingly

To go to HubPages instead

Hours from the actual incident

Recalling from memory

What actually went on in my head

Skillfully trying to attract readers who I haven't seen before

To open up the door I like to call imagination

Where anything and everything does happen

Comments

DREAM ON (author) on December 06, 2018:

lunaticdiaries I just might have to change my name to lunaticdiaries 2 after the crazy week I just had. I think I am making progress then surprise I was wrong. Life is mysterious. Thank you for your comment. It took me 6 days to get back to you. I miss writing. Other things in life had to come first. Nature surprised me with a little work of her own. I got some water down the basement. I used a wet vac to get the water and correcting the problem isn't always easy. I am learning as I go. Hope all is well. Happy Holidays and a wonderful Merry Christmas to you and your family.

lunaticdiaries on November 30, 2018:

Dream On, I like how you brought human nature & nature together. Tying two worlds together & comparing why we do & think the way we do is a catalyst for many thoughts to come. Another good one!

DREAM ON (author) on September 11, 2018:

Ann Carr Sharing life's magic and beautiful sights, sounds and dreams makes every day more exciting than the one before. Connecting with ideas that bring us together and make us appreciate what we have and don't have. Enjoying the littlest worm to the biggest cloud in the sky is my plan. Every day I get one more step closer to a world that makes everyone happy in some way. Thank you for your time and understanding. Have a lovely morning.

DREAM ON (author) on September 10, 2018:

Dora Weithers i find it a challenge to mold the thoughts I think and the action that takes place into a smooth transition. I keep testing my emotions and dig deep.into my fears and joys. Thank you for reading and sharing. Have an incredible afternoon.

DREAM ON (author) on September 10, 2018:

Gypsy Rose Lee You are doing a wonderful job piecing your poems together. The second step around should be easier than the first. How is your first book doing ? How many sales have you had ? I love to see your accomplishments and drive to your future. Charlotte has been sleeping all day. Just real lazy. Have a great Monday.

Gypsy Rose Lee from Daytona Beach, Florida on September 07, 2018:

I am having an interesting time putting together my second book of poems. I am gathering a mix of published and unpublished poetry. This will be a book of only love poems, good love, and bad love. The interesting part is that I have discovered poems that have been online and out there for several years and I do not even like some of them anymore go figure. It will be interesting to put it all together and then reread, edit etc.

Dora Weithers from The Caribbean on September 07, 2018:

All this philosophizing initiated by listening to someone. There are several directions you could have taken, but you shared some helpful messages on the path you took. Admirable!

Ann Carr from SW England on September 07, 2018:

Thanks, you too.

DREAM ON (author) on September 07, 2018:

Ann Carr Our cat Charlotte woke me up from a good sleep. i get up add some food to her dish and decide to fold towels I left in the dryer last night. Your temperature is 20 degrees Celsius which is 68 degrees Fahrenheit,That sounds great. I love all temperatures because that makes me appreciate each and every day. I try to create a world which is exciting and fun. To think of a new word that shows that enthusiasm and better describes my poems in a detailed story Helping people understand why I write. Thank you for so much support and friendship. I think life is too short to live any other way. Have a happy Friday.

Ann Carr from SW England on September 07, 2018:

It is cooler than that but we have an Indian summer at the moment, temperatures keeping in the low twenties for at least another few days. It's been lovely to have good weather for weeks, albeit with a little interrupting rain, but then that's good for the plants.

Love the word 'stoem'; you've invented new vocabulary!

Ann

DREAM ON (author) on September 06, 2018:

Ann Carr Thank you for being the first person writing a very lovely comment. I keep trying to bridge the gap between my thoughts and the readers minds. Making it something fun and special. Once in awhile I close in and the space seems no bigger than a piece of paper between us. Then other times I miss the boat and there are countries between us. I had a lot of fun writing this stoem and had a great time burning wood at the fire pit. Have a wonderful night. It has been in the 90's here. Hopefully it is cooler at your home.

Ann Carr from SW England on September 06, 2018:

I love this; it has so much content. The final part has a good message - why on earth do we spend so much time online when we can be outside, though being on HP is usually a good thing when we want to share and explore our memory and imagination. You should have no trouble attracting more readers. I like your style of penning your thoughts; after all, it's how all our minds work, isn't it? Or at least mine does! Good piece.

Ann