On a Burnt Hill
Social media shows a face
Unlike my own but full of grace.
White whiskers burnt, scared eyes
Weak mews like human baby cries.
I am so touched I wish my tears
Could rain the fires and calm its fears.
The face is orange but I don’t care
Sweet little one holds my stare
All the smoke-filled stars standstill
No human face touches my will
More than this small kitten in human hands
Scarred by damage to its homelands.
So kneeling quietly in prayer
For that small creature suffering there
I know all lives matter large or small.
Please Lord, have mercy on them all.
Lynette G. Esposito
Lynette G. Esposito,
MA Rutgers, has been published in Reader's Digest, Poetry Quarterly, North of
Oxford, Remembered Arts, Twin Decades, Fox
Chase Review, Deep Overstock and others. She was married to Attilio
Esposito and lives in Southern New Jersey with seven bossy feline
muses.