when it's this cold out

i often think about the peasants of the northern european areas,
scandinavian folk, russians, the baltics.......
from about 250 years or so ago.......maybe 400
did they stand in front of their stoves (beautiful tiled stoves) adding wood and basking in the warmth as it (the fire) started to take off?
i can also see the wisdom of multiple petticoats and warm woolen shawls

i came down at 2am
it was 67 in the studio
below zero outside but not too windy (which means we are warmer)
i started stoking the stove
raking up, then evening up the coal bed. letting air flow over the coals to heat them up prior to the next log being put on top of the
watching the log catch
realizing that this ritual has been going on for as long as man has tamed the fire enough to let him (her?) live where the snows get deep and the night is cold
can i reach across the centuries?
was there a village woman hundreds of years ago up at 2am
stoking the stove and dreaming of the future as i think of the past?
the flames and need for warmth unite us
even though her bones are long stripped of flesh
watching the flames
feeling the warmth
surviving the cold and dark yet another night