“Some Words for the Week”

It isn’t easy this life up here

hauling wood to and from

the woodshed to the stove

filling up the jugs

with that holy Ward water

having snow in the yard

for nine months a year

the greenhouse frozen

the shed door frozen

the windshield frozen

as I get up early for work

to shovel the driveway

the sky still pink from dawn

stars like diamond eyes

fading as the day rises

it’s hard living up here

harder to commute each day

down the canyon

but when I get home

and breathe the air

and listen

to the quiet of the woods

it isn’t any easier

but it feels right

as I carry an armload of wood

into the house

and coax the morning coals

back into flame

Alexander Shalom Joseph is a writer from Gilpin County. He has two published books and one more forthcoming in the Fall of 2022. For more information and to subscribe to Alexander’s Newsletter go to alexandershalomjoseph.com