Fighting Fire
Forest fire seems an absurdly benign term for these
Raging, all-consuming hydra-headed beasts.
The Young Men of Mann Gulch hardly had time to
Name what a wily monster it was that faced them when
Life was sucked away or otherwise devoured by
Sky-high scorching, leaping vacuums and hillside-wide walls of flame.
All they thought they knew about such fire was useless.
It turns out that instinct, raw and reflexive,
Offered escape if they could trust it, trust him.
Start a fire and lie down in the middle of it. You’ll be safe.
He knew it, he yelled it with all the force he had, but
He could not convince his colleagues to join him so they were overcome,
A stopped watch the timeless record of their fruitless flight, and
He survived.
Their last-second histories have become a textbook – analyzed,
Digitized and digested, blackened screams silently
Tucked away, deep in the belly of the beast.
April 28, 2011
Mary Biddle
No comments:
Post a Comment