Heartbeats

You might think it's lonely being by myself  in the big farm house on a cold, dark night. I have two companions . First is the mantle clock. It's been in the family for several generation. It's like part of the family. It has a steady tick tick like a heart beat. My second companion is the furnace in the cellar. When it comes on, it rumbles like a purr. It too is like a companionable heart beat. I know that the furnace is on it's last leg. It will have to be replaced with something new and more efficient but probably quieter. I will miss it. The house seems like a living being.  In the winter, I dream that it is calling to me, that it is cold, lonely and misses me. I feel that it is happy when I am here.  Picture of the cellar.