To Build A Fire

When the temperature drops,
What I really require,
If I’m in my house,
Is the roar of a fire.

It makes the room cozy,
Appealing and snug.
It’s like the enveloping
Warmth of a hug.

My husband decided
He’s had quite enough.
To tend to the fire
Took painstaking stuff.

The lugging and stacking
Of wood was a pain;
The stoking was constant
And made him complain.

And then all the cleaning –
The ashes and dust!
He quit, and on me
A new job has been thrust.

I’m up to the challenge, though –
I do not mind.
Three fires so far
I’ve set up and designed.

I doggedly tended,
Stoked, bellowed and fed;
My husband was glad
It was not him instead.

He’s not off the hook, though.
He’d be if he could;
‘Cause no way in hell
Will I chop up the wood!