Life Lines
Beep, Beep, Beep, Beep,
The pager screams into the night.
Fire personnel jump up,
Ready for a fight.
Sleepy bugs gone,
Wiped away from our eyes.
Sweet dreams pushed away,
From our eyesight.
We gather our gear, throw on our clothes,
Planning our strategy as we go along.
Our sirens are wailing,
As we rush into the night.
A structure is on fire,
With several people still inside.
Five Volunteer firefighters,
Arrive on the scene.
Two trailers on fire,
One already a grounder.
Paramedics, Law Enforcement, Bystanders,
They all ask--
Are the people inside?
Do you see any drugs?
Dousing it with water,
We beat the flames back.
Mop up begins now,
As we shift through the rubble.
No bodies are found,
Our heartbeats slow down.
It's just another night,
Just another fire.
We return to our stations,
Sleep gone away.
We talk amongst ourselves,
What went right and went wrong.
We slow ourselves down,
As we become--
Your family, friends, and neighbors.
Kathy Weidman
