Ashes fell from the sky that day

soft gray flecks blanketing scorched grass like dirty snow

Although the old farmhouse was long since abandoned,

Mama and Daddy gone some ten years now,

the old boards screamed as hungry flames licked dry timber



Memories of lives lived in another time, another space, died that day

Townsfolk whispered it was those good-for-nothing boys done did it

playing with matches on the falling down porch but she knew better



Some memories hold power greater than most

Dreams that never quite come true simmer on abandoned lots

buried under layers of resentment and decaying leaves

Frustrated ghosts celebrate as flames are lit

Baptizing lost chances, burning old goals



Clearing that space so that she,

the one left behind, could begin again

on consecrated ground



photo: Pixabay