Ablaze - Part Two
[Continued from Part One]
The youngsters were oblivious— so entranced were they
in their childhood amusements and entertaining play.
That door was small and narrow to leave the family home.
And, oh, their lives were fragile, like bubbles on the foam!
These children viewed the burning house as a safe abode,
although the conflagration seemed ready to explode.
Engrossed in every pleasure their little lives could get,
they were unconscious of the blaze and its mounting threat.
The elder, in the meantime, was consumed with worry.
He had to make them flee the mansion in a hurry.
Hence, the man ran back inside and then began to shout
that they were in great peril and quickly must get out.
He pointed to the fire, plus how it swiftly spread,
and sought to warn his offspring that soon they would be dead
unless they ceased their merriment, heeded his alarm…
The father could not bear it, if they should suffer harm!
Nonetheless, in spite of all the elder’s coaxing cries,
the children paid no mind to those admonitions wise.
Thoroughly absorbed in their diversions and delight,
they just did not believe him, nor had they any fright,
nor wish to stop their playing and hastily take flight.
Yes, the house was burning; still they scarcely saw the sight.
They were so immersed in fun, blind to their own blindness,
they could not see that his pleas stemmed from loving-kindness.
Those children had no dread and were sadly unaware
of what destiny lay in store, if they stayed in there.
How would they avoid such an excruciating fate?
The flames were closing in on them; it would be too late!
The man could not abandon them to be burned alive.
He had to find a clever way, so they would survive.
The father, wrung with agony, wondered what to do.
Such awful pain lay ahead— somehow he must get through.
He grappled with the problem and racked his brain at length.
Was there some expedient means of sufficient strength
he could use to save all the children that he cherished,
rescue every single one fast, before they perished?
[Continued in Part Three]
~ Harley White
Copyright © Harley White | Year Posted 2015
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