The Sparks Fall Like Stars

The sparks fall like stars from a grey slate board sky As ashes like teardrops drift into my hair. I cover my eyes from the crackling glare While silently screaming, “My God! O, God, why?” I heard, as I fled through the smoke and the heat That one of the volunteer firemen said The fire had started in somebody’s shed And, blown by the wind, quickly moved down the street. But how it began doesn’t matter—not now— As, still in my nightgown, I stand on my lawn And realize all that I owned is now gone— My laptop, my pictures . . . I hear a meow! “Oh, Ginger! My Ginger!” With tears on my face I reach down and pick up the love of my life— More loved than a husband is loved by his wife— And wrap my beloved old cat in embrace. I lower my head and I shamelessly cry, Alone with my cat in the chill autumn air, As ashes, like teardrops, drift into my hair, And sparks fall like stars from a grey slate board sky. Be Inspired Poetry Contest Regina McIntosh 7/31/20