a room for men to rest

a room for men to rest --

deadwood around a live tree,

signs of an artist

Not far off the path in a little grove of trees on the west side of Bonnefield Lake, someone has cobbled together a little hut from deadwood piled up around the pillar of a live tree. Pasted on the trunk are little slips of paper neatly printed with words pertaining to relatives: father, mother, brother, sister, uncle, aunt, niece, nephew, lover. And on the ground is a collection of miniature watercolors with titles like "Knee on heart, I love them all," "Florescent Bulb," "Way," and below a faded sign advertising MEN'S RESTROOM BASEMENT, "a room for men to rest." It's certainly a cozy place to rest, with a couple of logs beside the remains of a fire in front of the hut, polka dots of sunlight pouring through holes in the grass roof, and a clear view of the lake. Yet how many people pass by on the path and don't even notice, let alone take time to rest in the little room?