That's worth something

May to September
or winter in the wind
of a strange vortex spinning
arctic air through my front door,
when i read i enrich myself.
to my delight i saw a great collection of
stars in a deep night sky before taking my
place in front of the evening fire,
book in hand and no hurry to anywhere.
well provisioned with dry red oak which does not
smoke and has been split into manageable pieces,
i can sit for a week dreaming of Antibes in summer.
Bangu, a black cat, came too close in a feline way to my
cup of steaming coffee, but no harm was done as
he passed my arm rest with only a cursory glance
at the Peace Corps logo imprinted on my mug.
Soft, lonely nights were made for good literature, not for
petting domesticated animals, although I can not
tell two fat dogs how I really think.  Those canines seem to
enjoy the floor by my side where I flip casually the pages
of a deliciously mysterious story.
For me, it's reassuring not to rent, but rather to own a home
whether in a resort or in an undistinguished neighborhood,
hidden behind an unkempt front hedge of holly.
I once said, looking over the For Sale signs in a distressed neighborhood,
it's better to have a home, than the home have me.
I must have known something about the soul of a banker, that
beautiful shark swimming among the more blissful minnows.
Perhaps I might have preferred to buy property next to a rich English patron,
or adjacent to a hotel on the Riviera, but imagine the upkeep of
the exterior! My dogs, for better or worse, enjoy spending their days
chasing birds, squirrels and the occasional wayward person, so
it's better to be here, in perfect seclusion.  There are no complaints
heard about the cats coming home with a dead chipmunk or sad-looking
mole, so for me this really is a relaxing place to read.  And the
deep night sky holds such a great collection of stars undiminished by
light pollution, it would be foolish to leave.  During the day, I don't need
to feign modernism and can join the dogs whenever it's time for an
afternoon snack.  We can plan ahead or be impromptu.
They love to chew bones, often too quickly, and I love to use them for cooking.
And with a steep road to my door, I have few missionaries attempting a call.
That's worth something.