The Old Man and Claire

The old man came in from the fields and called out to Claire as he reached the cabin door, With no answer he entered and there lay his darling Claire upon the floor. The old man knelt down and gently stroked her long gray hair and wiped his tears from his face. Then he gently picked her up and carried her to their bed and laid her there in her place. He laid down beside her and said now what am I to do? For fifty three years they’d helped each other muddle through. He picked up their Bible which was battered and worn, And he read aloud some verses but his old heart was so forlorn. He closed all the windows and he bolted the door, And fired up their old coal oil lantern and dropped it to the floor. Then he laid back down beside her and closed his eyes to it all , As the fire raged about him he heard one of the walls crumble and fall. As the nearest neighbor rode up on horseback smoldering ashes were all that he found. The old man and Claire were now eternally bound.