Pompeii

Perhaps,
The day before
The catastrophe
They went shopping,
Came home and ate.
Perhaps
They went to school
Or played in the streets,
Feeling the sun's warmth on their faces.
Perhaps
They were due to be married
Or looking forward to
A birthday celebration.
Perhaps they never knew
The ending to their book.
Perhaps
They were ordinary people,
Doomed people,
Unknowingly drawing closer
To their destruction,
Their final days full of
Laughter, tears,
Hope, love,
Living without fear of what would certainly come
From living in Death's cool shadow.
All that remains now are
Huddled moulds of bodies.
No sign of what they were before
That one day.