Charred old photographs of classmates;
Who were once her dearest friends,
Flutter along the floor; propelled by the
Cold draught from an open side door;
Swirling around her feet in a final futile
Effort at reunion with their friend.

Echoes of fading sing songs drift from
Distant classrooms; musical memories
Of times when she was happy and content;
And life was fun.
Mournful tones of a faraway piano merge
With the children’s singing and transform
Into an elegy for the departed.

The little girl, clutching her Barbie doll;
Her only companion now in this place,
Returns to her Wendy house to wait;
Since the fire that closed her school and
Took her life, the last survivors of her

School days lost.