Poem – The Savior (By David B. Axelrod)

THE SAVIOR

You ask me, “If the house

were burning, what would

you save?” Would it be

my photo albums? Odd how

printing pictures has all but

stopped. I don’t own jewelry,

though I imagine gold melting

to nuggets in someone else’s fire.

The cat can save itself with

a leap when the door is opened.

I’d see to that, and my wife

is similarly fleet of foot. Yes,

I’d shoo them out. Important

papers? I’d want my kids to

have my will — odd word,

with many meanings, first

asking what we want to do

with life, then how to dispose

of it. My safe, I’m told, is

fireproof to fifteen hundred

Fahrenheit, which will cremate

me, should I linger to breathe

in smoke and choke. Lately,

I wonder if I’d save myself?

Author Bio:

Dr. David B. Axelrod is Volusia County, Florida, Poet Laureate. Author of 21 books of poetry, he has held three Fulbright Awards, including a year as Fulbright’s first Poet-in-Residence in the People’s Republic of China. His website is www.poetrydoctor.org.