Lightning Strikes
- Poetry in Paradise
- Oct 17, 2014
- 2 min read
The waking dog will run and bark
The gum tree explodes with a spark
Children cry scared in the dark
Mother makes a calming remark
Animals run they are in strife
The firestorm wants another life
A Husband strong embraces his wife
The crack thunders out like a knife
The birds knew they’ve gone afar
The tree has fallen upon their car
Last years back burn left a scar
It’s here now it’s where they are
Phone lines are down no one to call
Mobile signal lost there’s not one at all
Wet blankets line the fresh soaked wall
Parents are scared and children bawl
Smoke has come and filled the room
Heavier now than the sense of doom
The shed cracks on fire with a boom
Mother nature has sent her deadly broom
The mother cries at what might not be
The father’s mind aches a Man is he?
The dogs are in the huddle when they could free
Kay sera sera what will be will be
They hear the shatter of window glass
The fire is attending well to its task
The generator stalls it’s breathed its last
They feel like the inside of a coffee flask
Then from outside the broken windowsill
A voice calls out “are you in there Bill”
With a panic of excitement they give a shrill
They answer back the loudest they ever will
Many lives were risked in efforts to save
Danger was faced into fire walked the brave
The men and the women in the passing parade
True Aussie heroes of the rural fire brigade
So next time their bucket is passed around
Think of that family in that country town
They never gave up when the chips were down
Empty your pockets so the next ones too can be found
Jeffrey Goudy
18/10/14 1028534 Poetry in Paradise