The Hearth is the Heart

 Creep closer to the glow,

The beating heart of my home

Where stories rise to the rafters,

A witness to family matters,

A warmth in the bones of our elders

Come, sit, and gaze at the embers

At the flames I have tended thus far

There is a secret I will impart

To keep a fire breathing, living

It requires love and forgiving.

To save the house from constantly burning,

It needs patience hands to heal the hurting.

To give fire life when it starts dimming,

Support with new logs against those crumbling.

When the stones crack from the intense heat

Know you will be burned before the crack is seen.

Fire is deadly and heart-warming

It brings us together on frosty mornings

And drives some away when it blazes

Blinding our senses with a thick haze,

But it still burns under the care 

Of whoever remains, through foul and fair. 

The hearth is the heart of the home 

The centerpiece may not be visibly shown

But rest assured, every home has a heart

And a keeper to guard it from being broken apart.