Poems Page 8

THE BRIGADE

They came in force

Moving as if one

Those sirens wailing

And work to be done

I looked around

Only to find no one else could see

This mirage of heroes

No one gave a glance but me

And I stopped in my tracks

Transfixed at the sight

As if in a dream

Under the glare of sun, not the cover of night

And I saw in the distance

A ghostly building aflame

I found myself following

Not even knowing from whence they came

This mirage of determined heroes

Still answering the call

As I moved in yet closer

That fire and smoke now formed a wall

But they were not deterred

For they had a job to do

And they worked quickly and efficiently

As I watched it seemed they flew

And soon I heard the sirens again

A sound unlike any other

And screaming invisible down the street

One phantom truck after another

And I had to go down to one knee

For I could not believe my eyes

Shadowy, but yet still there

How could they all be lies

They seemed to move in unison

Like a familiar well-oiled machine

Each knowing what the others were doing

As smooth as any team

And this mirage of unknown heroes

They fought those flames into the ground

And when their battle was over

Not a spark or flare to be found

They came down from their ladders

They rolled up every hose

They removed their helmets and took a breath

With satisfaction only a firefighter knows

One more battle fought and won

And they might rest for now

But this phantom brigade of heroes would return again

On a moments notice, no matter what the hour

As they climbed aboard their trucks

And still no one stopped to stare

I wondered if this was my dream alone

Or if maybe it was theirs

This phantom brigade of heroes

Now disappearing from my sight

Riding back to their invisible firehouse

Having once again set things right

This phantom mirage of heroes

Now slipping away as shadow hides from sunlight

LET’S ROLL

That moment is frozen in time
I was on my way out the door
I turned around when I was called back in
And I won’t be coming home anymore
When the captain took that call
He grabbed his boots and said let’s roll
And we all climbed on that rig one more time
After one more ride down that pole
And here we are like I never thought we’d be
I never meant to leave you alone
How could I know it would be the last time
And now I won’t be coming home
That last ride flew by in a second
But it seemed to stand still in time
And I’ll tell you the truth, babe we really didn’t know we were leaving forever
Leaving everything behind
I left with some things unsaid, undone
But most of all I left you
But at least I know what we had was real
I know what we had was true
And here we are as I never thought we’d be
No, I never meant to leave you alone
I never knew that would be the last time
Now I won’t be coming home
I wonder if they told you how close I was
That I was nearly out the door
But you know me, I’d go back when needed
But now I won’t be back anymore
I can’t count how many times I’ve heard those words
Time and again, let’s roll
The call to arms for me and mine
That something that makes us whole
Like piece of a puzzle that’s missing
That we were lucky enough to find
The thing that filled that gap
As though giving sight to the blind
It’s not what you do, it’s who you are
Every moment of every day of every year
You give it everything you have
And takes what it gives back, even that lonely fear
You were there for me the day I passed that test
The day I finally took that step
And you were there with me in spirit
As I stepped into those fiery depths
So here we are like I never thought we’d be
For I never meant to leave you alone
When the captain said let’s roll
Who knew it would be the last time
And now I won’t be coming home
And I thought of you in those final minutes
You were right there in my mind
And even though I’m never coming home
I’m never leaving you behind
I still hear the captain calling
And we rush to get down that pole
Once again, one more time
One more call, I can hear it
Let’s roll