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Conflagration
Contributed by
Barry_William_Metcalf
on
Friday, 25th July 2003 @ 03:05:00 AM in AEST
Topic:
StoryPoetry
|
Day 1: “It’s too far away to threaten us…”
Bushfires raging, ‘cross the nation,
Summer heatwave, bushland parched and dry.
Dark smoke roiling, gum trees crackling,
Fire crews fight to contain the blaze.
Red tongues licking, burning, eating,
North wind raging, fanning flames on high,
The scrub’s so dry, a tinderbox,
Hillsides barren, no rain for months.
Clashing bells, bright red lights flashing,
Tankers spraying, fight a losing war.
Voices barking, screaming orders,
Desperate, now faced with many flashfires.
Dancing, taunting, throwing fireballs,
Encroaching on the city limits.
Fearful men elude the demon,
Advancing, it has won this day.
Day 2: “My God, it’s getting closer…”
Brown smoke billows, greets the dawning,
Sun dirty orange through mustard haze.
Burning scrub, an acrid odour,
Frightened faces regard the skies.
Sirens wailing, bullhorns squawking,
“Evacuate all your houses now!”
Ashen faces, worried breathless,
Praying the raging fire will pass.
Actions practiced, defences checked,
Firebreaks, rubbish, hoses, brooms and mops.
Anxious eyes, red-rimmed and sleepless,
Nervous lips intone hopeful prayers.
Silence eerie, grim, pervading,
Nerves taut with anguish, near breaking point.
Brave hearts sinking, pounding, thumping;
The frightening calm before the storm.
Day 3: “Remain behind at your own risk…”
Thunder roaring, ominous, strident,
Flames devouring, leaping tree to tree.
Sparks and cinders all around us,
Air so hot, we can scarcely breathe.
Dancing tongues soon breach the firebreak,
Gum leaves, twigs, tinder dry, exploding.
A fiery wall, all engulfing;
How now to save our beautiful homes?
Bright lights flashing, fire truck looming,
Too much clamour, sirens blare in vain.
Battle lost, crews ditch the fighting,
They’re here for us; forget the house.
Windscreen smeared, our view obstructed,
Eye-stinging smoke, dread and panic grow.
Fingers crossed, in hands of fate now,
The juggernaut, unhindered, howls.
Driving blinded through smoke and flame,
Seconds drag by, seems no escaping.
Burned alive! the thought consumes us,
As flames surround our wheeled lifeline.
Chinks appear, smoke curtain wavers,
A headlong dash, one chance for safety.
Suddenly, the truck emerges,
Blistered, from the inferno’s stronghold.
Minutes later, fury’s over,
Smouldering remnants the sole remains.
Bricks and mortar are no answer,
To summer’s deadly, dangerous threat.
Day 4: “We survived…today…”
Survivors stand, faces blackened,
Pale and haggard ‘neath their sooty coats.
Picking through the smould’ring chaos,
Of what was once their pride and joy.
Teardrops fall, secure but homeless,
Lined, smeared faces depict the strain.
Rebuilding now, the guiding light,
Not much salvaged from bushfire’s maw.
Raindrops fall, the pattern scattered,
A thunderstorm turning dust to mud.
Grateful faces gazing skyward,
Know the downpour’ll douse the flames.
Through it all one fervent question:
What disaster will next summer bring?
Copyright ©
Barry_William_Metcalf
... [
2003-07-25 03:05:00]
(Date/Time posted on
site)
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Re: Conflagration
(User Rating: 1 )
by Jenni_Kalicharan on
Friday, 25th July 2003 @ 03:19:32 AM AEST
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a Message)
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WOW!! Excellent write....very vivid description of how it must have been.... I think I actually felt the heat....Looking forward to more of your work...
Jenni |
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Re: Conflagration
(User Rating: 1 )
by loserkid on
Friday, 25th July 2003 @ 03:45:52 AM AEST
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| this is rad comming from utah we have tons of bush and forest fires i too am looking tword more of your writes |
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Re: Conflagration
(User Rating: 1 )
by Ilhar on
Friday, 25th July 2003 @ 05:26:46 AM AEST
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a Message)
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a vivid picture very well done
also looking forward to more of your work you take the reader along for a very wonderful ride
Shari |
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Re: Conflagration
(User Rating: 1 )
by Barry_William_Metcalf on
Friday, 25th July 2003 @ 09:14:21 PM AEST
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a Message)
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I saw video footage of this on the news...a cameraman rode through the flames in one of the rescue vehicles...and I felt the heat from that coverage. Not long after, several smaller fires threatened the outskirts of the town where I lived, racing through light scrub and trees. I wrote this not long afterwards.
Thank you for your kind words.
Cheers, Barry. |
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Re: Conflagration
(User Rating: 1 )
by Barry_William_Metcalf on
Friday, 25th July 2003 @ 09:18:03 PM AEST
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a Message)
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Glad this little epic caught your imagination, and your were able to relate it to similar experiences in Utah.
Thank you for your comments.
Cheers, Barry. |
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Re: Conflagration
(User Rating: 1 )
by Barry_William_Metcalf on
Friday, 25th July 2003 @ 09:44:04 PM AEST
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I spent some time revising this piece, Shari, trying to create something for the reader to experience, without being subjected to a bushfire.
Thank you for your comments.
Cheers, Barry. |
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