Red and silver evoked images of fire,
Alarming the heart.
Bloodshot and shiny, it cut a pathway through flesh and stone.
Lachrymose, in shock, passers-by stopped in the streets.
Glowing scaffolding couldn’t support the spire.
Humans fought the inferno
To save what could be saved
And still the flames endured.
Lead dripped into the wounds
As a mirror cracked.
Were we ever powerless
Against an irate nature?
What turned away the fates?
Was it prayers or
Singing in the streets?
Was it the power of faith,
Pleading and beseeching,
That turned the tide?
Was it one defiant cross?
Or the shower from hosepipes?
Hundreds took part in the fight
And made humankind hold its breath.
Out of flames and despair
A new hope survived.
© HMH, 2019
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