Five were accused
of initiating the Natchez Dance Hall Holocaust,
none found guilty.
The fire
was an accident.

But it could have been stopped.
Lives could have been saved.
Fuel had doused the walls
which fueled the fire
and windows had been boarded
eliminating escape.
Safety had been diminished
to increase profits.
Security was erased
for possible prosperity.

Over two hundred died.
Three funeral homes could not
manage all the burials
and many were tossed into mass graves.
An unfitting end
for those that simply wanted to dance.