..and all the things done to make a man run,
the hard luck and the failures of age...

..then I stopped with a crash...we looked into the ash
helpless with longing and rage.
Utah Phillips (Phoebe Snow)

...the clock in the kitchen says quarter past three
As the gates are flung open from hell,
But time here is frozen the clock ticks no more
Just the ashes the cinders and smell.

Fire, by Dave Mallett