I don't try to defend my work by explaining it, because obviously it should stand on its own, but if your interested
the title is important. Someone is missing.
I mention the fire in the first stanza to indicate a passage of time. Some time has passed, an hour or two, but not longer, because the last bit of heat has just been released from the hearth. This is also reminiscent of death, the way bodies turn cold after death.
For what is worth, you all got the second stanza, fairly concrete. I feel like utilitarian means basic no thrills, could be cheap, but well built indicates quality. The chair is the only one left standing.
The door has lost the war, unable to keep "the bad guys" out. Footprints are the bad guys and screams are the one who is missing, in the title.
