The Burning

I smell the smoke and feel the fear.
Disaster has occurred.
Mother crying out for her lost child.
Praying under her breath, and begging the world.
Please spare her, my joy.
Please save her.
Flames engulf the surrounding life.
Louder now the mother shrieks.
People must hold her back from running into the inferno.
Men in crimson and daffodil douse the warm glow.
At last the blaze dulls into a soft fog.
Ashes float into the hazy gray sky.
Weary silence echoes.
One sound dares to question it.
The mother screams, “My child! Where is my child?”