Angry blue-red flames

retreated from first responders.

Before their last sputter of sparks

turned to ash rose the nurturing

breast of Auburn.

Her gigantic arm of support

circled those who lost everything.

Some didn’t even have coats to

fight off the bitter noon cold.

Artifacts, heirlooms, precious

photos, irreplaceable life treasures

gone as if smoked by a huge cigar.

Easy to see how despair would

squash hope for a better tomorrow.

And then the miracle, a modern day

sermon.

Neighbors all over Auburn came

forward bringing donations

of every sort.

But most of all they planted a

rebirth of hope, a new kind of flame,

in the hearts of those who once lived

in the historic Heritage House.

– Gerald A. McBreen

mcbreenpost@aol.com