At Close of Day
After the labor that fills the day and long before full darkness falls,
We long to gather and go away, to leave the dimness of labor’s halls
And go back home to the fireside, where supper and books and armchairs wait,
To spend the remains of eventide over soup and a novel beside the grate.
This is the way the day should end, and peace and renewal repair the spent,
Frayed souls whose work was less than friend, for whom the fire is heaven-sent–
This nest of comfort from which we roam always draws us back to hearth and home.
Art-Colored Glasses 
“… to hearth and home” as well as heart and home.
And of course, the hearth *is* the heart of many a home. In the case of the photo-montage, the hearth in question is at the heart of a really tasty BBQ joint–and *that* is near and dear to *my* heart. 🙂
Love the image Kathryn! And words that speak so well to the day’s end…and the evening’s beginning. Beautiful.xx
Thank you, my sweet! That top picture is actually of my husband and his parents walking ahead of me out of a BBQ joint! But the walls were so black with smoke and the contrast of their silhouettes so picturesque against the bright windows (I even had to darken the window light to keep the whole image from washing out), the shot became unexpectedly evocative for me.
Well said, Kathryn. There’s something about walking across the threshold that, no matter how the day was spent, brings an immediate sense of relaxation, of relief.
Hope you’re finding adequate time and space for relaxation these days, John!
Mmm! I’m relaxed already and looking forward for this afternoon…if only!! 😉
Hopefully, soon!
Maslow’s most basic in his “Hierarchy of Needs”…
Mr. Maslow was a pretty smart man, no?