Bonfire Poem by Sandra Martyres

It is New Year's Eve
A bunch of children
Sitting around a bonfire
Their faces illuminated
Waiting to burn the
Old man - the old year
Suddenly a glint in her eye
She jumps into the fire
That cute little girl
With a mop of curls
Her friends scream
And try to pull her out
But her hair and hands
Are engulfed in flames
She too begins crying aloud
And tries to jump out
As the frightened children
Run away from her
Leaving her burning
By the time some adults
Realise what is happening
It is too late, the little body
Lies horizontal on the floor
Almost lifeless blackened
A charred face and head
She is all but dead - no one
Could save her - One small boy
Cried out ' We had to burn
The old man not little Jan'