I can't tell the difference between poplar and beech but I do know they both burn and that's all that I need for them to do. My father's wood pile sits under his blue tarp shed behind the garage he built and now I'm here stacking and unstacking and putting gloves on in the winter while I hold a two-foot log of wood I can't name and shoving it into the wood broiler that heats his house. At some point he told me the difference was in their leaves but all I see is warmth for a few hours.
William Berg lives in Northern Maine.