the night fire

I push a steel barrel into
the center of the yard.
I find the lighter fluid
and a book of matches.
I throw in some branches,
some newspapers just to get
it going,
then set it all ablaze.
I put all of my self help books
into a wheel barrow
and bring them around
the house
to the raging fire.
one by one I toss each in.
I watch the flames lick
the pages,
the underlined and dated
sentences.
I see the bindings go up,
the sizzle of the laminated
covers,
the smoke of ink burning.
I stand around the barrel
and smile.
I feel better as I warm
my hands over the fire.
finally they have become
useful.