Woodsmoke

There are times in life
When it seems important to get away,
Away from all the petty worries,
Time to change night into day.

Those are times to look up old friends,
Go out to a special place
And light a fire,
Let the woodsmoke drift into my face.

We laugh, joke and let the smoke
Get into our eyes,
Into our hair, clothes and lungs
To wash away all the lies.

We watch the sun go down
In splendid reds, pinks and blues.
Conversation stays light
Through all of these hues.

The darkness closes us in,
Swallows the elms into night.
They become ominous shadows
Outside the globe of light.

Darkness shrinks the universe,
We are all that is left.
The fire becomes the sun,
We are stars set adrift.

With all the world gone
We feel free to talk aloud
To people we can trust,
Free from the threatening crowd.

Each of us then speaks,
All in turn,
Of what is happening,
Why our souls burn.

The smoke from the flames
Does not sting or maim;
It washes over us all,
Cleanses, takes away pain.

The fire is at the center.
We talk to the burning light
And all our worries
Drift with the smoke into the night.

When I return the next day
Mother makes me bathe
To wash the woodsmoke away.
But it stays with me.

Personal logo of Martin C. Fredricks IV

© 1990 Martin C. Fredricks IV


Martin C. Fredricks IV

Martin C. “Red” Fredricks IV here. I’m husband to an amazing woman who is also my best friend, dad to three outstanding kids, Fargoan (North Dakota, that is), proud introvert, veteran messaging strategist/copywriter, and big-time reader. As they say, if you're gonna write good stuff, you have to read good stuff. A ginger, too - ergo the "Red" - although some of it's going white. Cinnamon-Sugar, I call it. Tattooed to boot; seven so far. At age 54, I'm stilling crankin' AC/DC & Metallica, but now and again I spin some Eric Church and Black Uhuru, too. I love hanging out with my (much) better half, spending time with our kids, writing, hiking, riding my mountain bike and reading.

2 Comments

PAUL JENSEN · September 25, 2019 at 5:21 pm

Such a nice mode one gets into when reading your poetry. It took me back to my boy scout days, and hopefully will again with my two grand children when they are ready for the woods. 🙂

    Martin C. Fredricks IV · September 25, 2019 at 5:44 pm

    Thank you for your kind words, Paul.

Let me know what you think!

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