Neighbor House Afire

 

I saw the newspaper article:

It looked like someone else’s

News

 

But it happened to them

 

Before newspaper-reading,

I received the message;

Something caught fire in

Their garage then, needing

Room, the fire flexed

 

Garage gone now—the car,

Too, the house and who

Knows what else damaged

 

Fire out, three days now

 

Insurance is good, my friends

Tell me

 

All are well; the cats were

Rescued first by the one

Human who was home

 

Now in alternative shelter,

Plans by all in unison are

Made (except the cats who

Make their own), even while

Breathing takes over again

 

Pray for my friends—they’re

Raw in crisis

 

And I won’t presume to know

All that they need