Weather

It's getting cold. The weather has been very mild, but winter is indeed on its way, though it won't be official for another month. We should have snow on the ground by now...maybe it's global warming? The winters of my youth were nothing like those of today. Those months were white, icy, with air that seemed to snap. Oh well. I prefer warmth over chill anyway.


Fuel

Glazed donuts burn
really well when they’re stale.
My husband remembers the feed sacks
of leftover donuts
given to his family once a week.
A neighbor worked
at Dunkin’ Donuts and took the unsold
pastries home to split
between her family and his.
My mother-in-law says it saved
the chicken’s asses
as well as theirs.
You can only find
so much wood within walking distance.
The snow was deep
that year. He loved
feeding the donuts
to the stove, fire
snapping from wood
and sugar. The donuts would explode
but produced good heat, fuel
for fire and chickens.