Wednesday 27 December 2023

The Firewood Poem

THE FIREWOOD POEM, COMPOSED BY LADY CONGREVE, IS THOUGHT TO HAVE BEEN FIRST PUBLISHED IN THE TIMES NEWSPAPER ON THE 2ND MARCH, 1930:-

Beechwood fires are bright and clear
If the logs are kept a year,

Chestnut's only good they say,
If for logs 'tis laid away.

Make a fire of Elder tree,
Death within your house will be;

But ash new or ash old,
Is fit for a queen with crown of gold.

Birch and fir logs burn too fast
Blaze up bright and do not last,

It is by the Irish said
Hawthorn bakes the sweetest bread.

Elm wood burns like churchyard mould,
E'en the very flames are cold

But ash green or ash brown
Is fit for a queen with golden crown.

Poplar gives a bitter smoke,
Fills your eyes and makes you choke,

Apple wood will scent your room
Pear wood smells like flowers in bloom.

Oaken logs, if dry and old
keep away the winter's cold

But ash wet or ash dry
a king shall warm his slippers by.

2 comments :

Anonymous said...

One can imagine Lord Belmont in his well worn Barbour , battered Tilley hat and green wellies reciting this poem to himself as he gathers in the winter log supply. Images of sitting in front of a blazing fire , brandy warming in a cupped hand and the cosy Church slippers resting rear the hearth as he peruses an old P G Woodhouse classic , - ah if only it was like that all the time.

Anonymous said...

Nice. Even the commnet as I sit in front of my fireplace. (which burns gas by the way.)