The Door to Heaven

I paused on my morning walk, I'd gone 'bout half way'
To look where a house stood only yesterday.
Now only a pile of rubble and soot,
The doorway still stood, though it's purpose was moot.

The Valiant had come, sirens screaming in the night;
They fought like demons to save what they might.
They lie now at home, restless and spent,
Sleepless for agony in their hearts still pent.
For they know that they tried as hard as they might,
But lives had been lost on their watch that night.

I watched a cat come to the door and step cautiously through,
Probably wondering what happened to the people it knew—
The family that fed it, the child that ruffled it's fur,
The love and contentment that caused it to purr.
As I looked at the door, I knew it would be all right;
For it was the doorway to Heaven for those lost there that night.

James McBride