He woke up to unusual gray skies

An intense orange light seemed to replace the sunrise

He was sure it wasn’t dusk because mama was gone

She always left to get food at the break of dawn.


Minutes turned to hours, yet still no return

His mother and food were the only things for which he yearned

Luckily, his hunger was replaced by fascination -

The intense orange light seemed to have its own gravitation.


The closer it got, the bigger it seemed

It only captivated him, the others fled the scene

The sky was dark now; smoke from the light was the cause -

It also engulfed the image of mama he saw.


With the forest ablaze, he saw he was alone

His nest contained the shells of his previous home

The flames captured his tree and began to burn it down.

It finally hit him as he was drowning in embers -

Maybe mama left town.