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STEAM HEAT

Submitted by Esker on Thu, 2016-12-01 09:25

flickering flame
stainless vent
I lay awake
to noise events
a happy bar
the hiss of cars
beneath the
sodden silence
of the stars
behind their
canopy of wet
The pipes click
warmth
a comfort born

I remember
rainstorms
thundering!
pots with dishcloths
collecting dripping
drops
The thud of wiper
motors wheezing
slap...a heater
motors broken
trap
Cold damps indignity
showing face
the shiver in the
social race
Once young
the heat has cooled
its ardor
Old bones creak
movement
harder
the glisten of the
morning rain
replaces joy
arthritic pain
But in the comfort
of the nite
a well paid home
makes sighs and
groans
a smile to the
dreaming slumber
snoring loud
producing lumber!
thankful for the
richer life
benefit from
days of strife
improved
tomorrows
from beginning
past
a glowing
sense of the
better grasp!

..

Editing stage: 
Editing - rough draft

Comments

Esker

Thu, 2016-12-01 09:35

Esker's picture

since hitting my city
long from the humble
beginnings I only chose
places providing the best
I can afford..and I cant
afford top digs...but humble
and pleasant today!

In the past..in the thick of
winter when the cold settled
on the beauty of our snow
and forested countryside
our parents and kin saved
money....thermostats down
low..Oil heat furnaces...hydro
baseboards...When I had my
own place it was a fortune..
I starved to stay warm
was talking to my chums and
downtown its old buildings
tenants who control the heat
dampness enough to spoil
books produce mold.
Many living on the outskirts
since Hydro One went private
are paying four to six hundred
a month for electricity!
a cord of wood is almost a
hundred dollars delivered
with its risks and maintenance
extra insurance.
Majority of my disability pension
is turned into rent....Pay six
hundred fifty a month
helping another person out
I ride my mountian bike all
year to save the three fifty
one way on the transit!
I get four hundred sixty
dollars to live on for thirty
days...Up here you can carry
out in two plastic shopping
bags fifty dollars that will
last three days...
I hit all the food banks
like everyone else...
I go to the soup kitchen
downtown that lets people
have breakfest...bagels
or peanut butter toast
coffee and sometimes
snack food or an apple
on the way out..
There is a church dinner
every wednesday and
at the Sally Ann every
second week now
a meal on Sunday
for those not ridden
with physical disabilities
or anxiety. a survivable
system today.. In my parents
time there was no such thing
going out to get supplies
with a friend...we have eighty
dollars! but we have the
xmas spirit...good shoes...
hats..jackets mitts...surviving
like all others!
we are thankful
and helpful!

Thank U
Mr Wolf

author comment

valene

Sat, 2016-12-03 16:51

Hi Mr. Wolf, I like how you formated this. I found it to be an easy read that held my attention from start to finish. You've done a great job of creating images and even sounds, so I'm able to 'see and hear' of what you speak. When you suggest the idea of getting older, I can totally relate, especially on damp, cold days....the bones and joints, at least at times, do feel it. And when you mention pots and dish used to catch the leaks, one of the house we lived in when I was married had so many leaks on stromy days, and hearing that annoying drip, which was more like a clang when the water hit the pots, was not the least bit pleasant! And even using towles as a cushion didn't help much after awhile!
I like your ending very much because it takes away from the darker tone. The lines starting with, 'thankful for the richer life...benefit from the the days of strife'...all the way to the end, give a sense of awareness that though life in the past wasn't the best, brighter days are ahead and even starting to 'shine through.' ....sorry if what i just said sounds a bit trite but I'm guessing you get what I'm saying, or at least trying to...my brain after working, is pretty muddled by the time I get home so my thoughts may be too!
Long story short, I enjoyed reading your poem, and I love how you ended it on a more postive note! It's the perfect ending!
Also your follow up was a nice addition and I feel as though I'm getting a better sense of you.

valene

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