Melodies kindled by hearth fires:
the refrigerator murmurs like a cello
in concert with the clanging cymbals of platters,
the violin strings of scarlet wine,
the oboe winds that scatter the leftover
crumbs of bread —
Supper flames are quenched,
night deepens towards the precipice of dawn,
outside the window
the eyelids of frozen branches close,
await the feeble warmth of winter morning.
Foxes have holes,
the graceful gazelle runs homeward
to the ebony forest,
egrets fly to their nests in the fir trees,
the mountain goats climb to their high places.
Praise, praise,
for the laughter of light in our dwellings,
the crimson fire of corpuscles pulsating
with the pendulum of time —
Praise, praise to Thee,
O Giver of Light and Life,
O Source of Strength and Joy.
D. G. Vachal © 2014
*** Photography Credit: “Night Cabin” by Andrey Golubev
lilies, sparrows and grass 
Praise, praise indeed.
Lovely evocative words!
Thank you for your heartwarming comments! Blessings to you!
What a beautiful prayer! I feel like I am there. You paint a vivid picture and touch our hearts.
Thank you so much, Ellen. It is a blessing to know these words formed a prayer, and touched hearts. I pray that the beauty of grace and peace touch your life this week in a special way. Blessings always, Dee
Started off as a little haunting and nostalgic – the words and image. The last two verses – so uplifting. Yes! Praise Him indeed, with all our heart and soul – Light of our Life.
Thank you, Eric. So glad you found the last two verses uplifting, as these formed the culmination, the mountain peak of what I wanted to convey.
Peace and blessings,
Dee
O, Dee, this is wonderful. Within the Divine breathed into each of us, a telling of truth always points us to home……… Birds, even across the darkest night, return to a home they’ve never known. I truly love this. Your words settle so sweet on my heart. ~ Love you…….always, Bobbie
You always express your thoughts on my work so profoundly, so poetically, Bobbie. Thank you, for catching the theme of returning to home across the darkest night, in the midst of the coldest winter nights. Your words weave so many wondrous tales in my heart. Lots of love to you, Dee
Fantastic! Something new with the musical instruments – and you’ve touched brilliantly their conveyance into the visual world. Well done
Dear Sandy, I am so pleased you caught the sounds and images of the musical images, and what these conveyed. It is now my conjecture that you have eagle eyes in reading poetry and prose — you fly high above the landscape, and then swoop down on your talons and grasp the nourishing meat. Thank you for doing so in my work. All my best, Dee
A totally beautiful expression of poetry and praise. Dee you’ve hit a real high note, capturing a heartwarming and heart racing vision of home and hearth, and echoing so clearly how life’s best moments are often found in God’s gifts of the people, times, and places He gives us to enjoy.
Dear Susan,
Thank you for your insightful summary of this piece in your beautiful words. It is humbling to know that a piece of work is not stagnant, but continues to unravel, in the profound meanings the reader extracts from the encounter. I love your comment that “life’s best moments are often found in God’s gifts of the people, times, and places He gives us to enjoy”. I am blessed to know that this meaning came out from the words of this piece.
I wish you a blessed week ahead, Susan!
Dee
Love the way you use the music of the orchestral instruments to set the domestic tone before taking us out into the cold dark mystery of the universe, and bringing us back home to ‘the laughter of light in our dwellings’ – the full circle of life
Dear Valerie,
What a wonderful journey you uncovered in this piece — thank you for sharing your thoughts — from the homespun music, to the “cold dark mystery of the universe”, and back home, the full circle of life. As our dear friend Bobbie says, “always we are tracing our footsteps back to home”. I am so thrilled that the words of this poem brought the concept of this “full circle of life” as you read it. Thank you for your insightful and inspiring comments. All my best, Dee
Very beautiful and very thought-provoking. I love to contemplate poetry.
Thank you, Carolyn, for reading and your lovely comment. We share the same love of contemplating poetry. Blessings, Dee
I love this phrase: the eyelids of frozen branches close.
Thank you, John. Blessings, Dee
magical!
Thank you so much for your reading and for your lovely comment.
Always Dee, you words always inspire! God bless!
Thank you, Wendell, it is a humbling privilege to do so… as your words always inspire my heart and other hearts as well! God bless!