Harboring Demons

Up in fire!
Gone in smoke!
Brothers just playing
"Your Dare to my Joke"

Down....
my world crashes!
Our home has burned from flames
to just a pile of ashes.

A pet dies.
Our kitty's in another place.
Brought to me half alive
with oxygen mask on her face.

Dies in my arms.
My baby's pet!
Killed by a fire
that he accidentally set.

All locked inside.
Feelings he wont share.
Mourning the loss
of a kitty beyond care.

"It's okay"
I say to him.
"I know that it wasn't
just a whim".

But I can't erase
his endless guilt
from seeing his kitty's gasping body
suddenly wilt.

A child's dare.
A family's home and pet.
Killed by a fire,
he accidentally set.

ReBecca Sanchez
10/22/08