Inferno Poem by Joyce wolayo

It scuttles the ground like an octopus
Leap by leap and lick by lick like an ocean current
With a viciousness that clings coldly into our minds
The fiery angry tongues of yellow gold goblets
Flair furiously at the first gust of wind
That billows at it as if lightened by
Another gallonn of gasoline.
Black coals of burnt debris meet our eyes
As the flames continue to choke the building
Into a dusty black chalk
We gather outside anxiously
To look for those who were on that same block
They are safe! By a miracle!
It remains a grim tragedy for us all.

My throat chokes dry with disbelief
My mind wonders how it happened
Because its an arson attack
The second time the block was burning down
As if not choked enough to death by its haters
And it was in our little minds that one of us
Was a little devil who enjoyed seeing
Suffering on the faces of others
The cold morning air stiffened with mystery
As we watched half burnt tooth brushes, books
And mattresses shoved out of the smoked inferno.
Distress and heart ache written all over
All our strained faces peeping into the deathly dormitory