By: Jeanne
The lights went out, the shades were drawn,
The sirens screamed at night.
Her stomach seized as she quickly hid
'Neath the dresser with books and light.
Beneath the city the coal was mined,
She never knew of that peril,
Till that small girl fell out of sight,
Just walking the sidewalk was Carol.
West of her valley lay a mountain,
Green trees against the blue sky.
Gazing across, she spied the fire,
"Don't come here - please not here", she cried.
Nights when her family were at home
All was right then with her world.
But should one of them travel out,
Her hand found her hair and she twirled.
He walked in from his long days job,
Was he in a good mood or bad?
She tried to make herself invisible.
From her unpredictable Dad.
Highway six-eleven, too near,
Truck's brakes would often fail there.
Her brother ran off to see the wreck,
She headed for that bathroom chair.
While lying in bed almost in dreams,
Her little dog down by her feet,
She heard a faint noise - what was that?
Wide eyed, there was no more sleep.
Her Mother signed her up for school,
She was scared the very first day.
Eight long years passed slowly by,
High School took those dark fears away.
Be a good girl, believe as you're told,
Or you'll suffer in the fires of hell!
She worried about each small thing,
Since she could lose her soul as well.
Decades pass, that little girl still lives,
With her fears, though not any the same.
She thinks of good things, takes a deep breath,
And carries on with life's silly games.
