Morning First of Year

I did not plan to awaken early
you know it's not my habit
any longer
though every night I say tomorrow
I will rise while the morning
is yawning and stretching herself
across the sky.  But up I got and
dressed and out the door for wood.
The old wheelbarrow was bottom
up in the yard and big enough
for what I needed.  The dogs ran
too and down the hill we went to
where new wood lay chopped and
sour and old wood had evaporated
into kindling.  I worked then
hauling and piling until the well
was full and the door was pushed
shut for another day.  No easy task
trundling back up the hill out of
breath but full of fuel.  Two logs
I carried in and placed them
in the fireplace.  Flames licked
dry wood and I shut another
door.  This time, golden morning
in a stone-framed box.