BEANERY ONLINE LITERARY MAGAZINE
HAPPY NEW YEAR from the BEANERY WRITERS!
We thank all our loyal readers for their patronage of our online magazine, and we welcome all new readers to join with us in this the New Year.
SHAKE, RATTLE AND ROLL
Katheen
As we enter the first of year 2009, let us remember that we should “shake, rattle and roll.” Pledge to make a difference in the coming year!
On a frigid winter morning
dad, in plaid flannel bathrobe
headed to the basement
where ashes from the coal furnace
had settled into a gray nest.
The slender iron poker, precisely inserted
produced a rhythmic rattle
that echoed throughout the house. . .
Dust and soot flying
he shoveled the ashes,
later used as compost
into the galvanized bucket.
Shiny black nuggets glistened
as dad tossed fresh coal
into the hungry iron belly
where orange-red flames licked
them to bright heat. . .
Upstairs, the morning’s commotion
meant I’d have to roll out of bed
. . .the thought brought goose bumps. . .
and I’d scrunch further under the covers
My blue chenille bathrobe pulled tight
I’d pad downstairs for breakfast,
warm my hands ’round a cup of cocoa
and munch cinnamon toast.
School clothes draped over the chair
I’d dress standing over the heat vents
. . .the robe billowing like a ballroom gown
savoring the up thrust of heat
that warmed my shivering body
like steam from hot oatmeal. . .
