An Empty Fire Pit Poem by Jim Yerman

In Florida oak leaves fall in March and as I was cleaning up our backyard
I paused a moment to sit…
to take a break and relax around our old and empty fire pit.

As I sat catching my breath…suddenly in my mind memories started to soar
and that fire pit, empty only a moment ago….was not empty any more.

I saw our children and grandchildren toasting marshmallows…eating s'mores
I saw them chasing fireflies, and listened to all the things in life they were wishing for.

I saw myself as a boy around a campfire toasting marshmallows…eating s'mores.
As I watched myself chasing fireflies I wondered…
what kind of things back then…I might have been wishing for.

But that was long ago…and over time my memories blur.
When I think back to those childhood wishes…I can't remember what they were.

Watching a much younger me at a campfire with my family sitting around
I imagine, being young, my wishes were more superficial…less profound.

Or maybe, just maybe…if I could hear me…I would hear myself profess
how I wanted to be a kind and gentle person…how I wished for happiness.

Perhaps I wished for a family who loves me..
to say or do a few things that may never be forgotten…
for friends who make me smile…and for grandchildren to spoil rotten.

If I could travel back in time…if only for a moment or two
I'd go back and tell that younger me,
"Don't worry, little me, someday…your wishes will come true."

As I returned to my backyard duties…
as the latest flow of memories come to an end…
I had to smile…
knowing how a fire pit…
once it's known love…
will never be totally empty again.