AFTER A FIRE
After the fire in the house
around the corner,
the family of the man
who died put up
a sign that read
“We Found All the Money.
Now. Stay Out”
The firemen reported
problems finding the man
in the midnight fire
and smoke that killed him.
The rooms were cluttered
and jammed with the things
of his life and there was no room
for shrouded firemen to move
For the longest time
the house stood scarred
and empty
and its fate uncertain,
as we walked slowly
my dog sniffing cinders
me looking for a ghost
and then
some new family came along
and spruced it
up until it looked
nothing like when
the old man lived and
died there
with his every possession
-- Copyright © 2010 by Anthony Buccino, all rights reserved. Photos and content may not be used for commercial purposes without written permission.
From Retrieving Labrador Days - Dog tales in prose and verse
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1 comment:
Ah, the dog. The rooms cluttered with possessions while the family searched for the money, maybe? It begs the question, how could money be more important than memories? So sad. Good set up. Beginning, middle end.
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