"Fire Upon the Hearth" I am the pillar of the house: The keystone of the arch am I. Take me away, and roof and wall would fall to ruin utterly. I am the fire upon the hearth. I am the light of the good sun. I am the heat that warms the earth. Which else were colder than a stone. At me the children warm their hands:I am their light of love alive Without me cold the hearthstone stands. Nor could the precious children thrive. I am the twist that holds together The children in its sacred ring. Their knot of love, from whose close tether No lost child goes a-wandering. I am their wall against all danger. Their door against the wind and snow. Thou Whom a woman laid in a manger. Take me not till the children grow! -- Katharine Tynan (1861-1931)