By Douglas J. Lanzo
Copyright 2025

First published in WestWard Quarterly (Spring Issue, April, 2025)

Dedicated to Karen Cabot and her beloved students

She gave her all
to those she loved,
third-grade students
for thirty years;

Caring for them
as family,
with bonds forged through
blood, sweat and tears;

Losing her home
to raging fires
sweeping mountains
outside LA —
devastated
by treasures lost —
cards and pictures
kept on display…
from thousands of
grateful students,
whose lives she touched
each cherished day.

She found herself
wrapped in their love,
with videos,
cards and letters,
filled with thanks
and warm wishes
that she would heal —
and feel better.

With tears of joy
she felt deep care
from students here
and past,
now certain that
the bonds they shared —
would yet, this fire,
outlast…