Free verse poem written for Spidey's contest |
RED SKY AT DAWN This morning, unlike most others, the sky was a murky red, a glow to the west that took me a minute to register the reason. The scanner cracked with the news. That red sky at dawn was no phenomenon of nature; there was a wildfire not far away and it was spreading fast. I grabbed my clothes and dressed. At the station, I climbed aboard one of the trucks along with the other men; we were the last truck to leave the station; two of our tankers had gone ahead. The call had gone out to other departments, more help was coming. The wildfire had already engulfed more than forty acres of timber, and showed no sign of control. We arrived at the command site in time to relieve some of the men; faces burned and blackened, they made their way out, choking and sickened by the acrid smoke. We pushed forward, dragging line, aiming the spray of water at the flames, dousing the ground and trees around; setting up more hose, chopping our way through underbrush to the heat of the fire. It would be days before the fire was brought completely under control, with a lot of help from a heavy rain; finally the fire was quenched and we returned to the station, conquerers. There is nothing that will strike fear into the hearts of a firefighter than to get the call, the news that there is another wildfire raging, another morning with a red sky at dawn. Countrymom 2/4/06 |