The Cabin

 

Her grandfather had built the cabin 

for her grandmother in 1963. 

Trees cleared from the property 

to make space for it in the wilderness

had turned into logs that made 

sturdy exterior walls. Inside 

there was a central living room 

with bedrooms and a bathroom 

from its four corners. The kitchen, 

under the loft on the west side, 

sported a wood and coal stove 

and running water. Stacks of quilts, 

stacks of wood, boxes of games 

and puzzles and pictures on the walls

showed how the cabin had been used, 

life lived and loved here. But her favorite 

thing of all was the heart 

her grandfather had carved into a log

near the front door. It was deep, 

family legend went, just like his love 

for her grandmother.