After the Fire

A short, three-stanze poem about a fireman after a fire destroys his hometown.

The Fireman

He can still hear the screams
Of the ones he couldn’t save.
Dashing away as the fire gleamed
Couldn’t keep their souls from the grave.

Fire burnt, fire seared
Scratching, sniffing, licking high.
But he never sheds a single tear—
Just tells dead friends goodbye.

He wishes he could save their lives,
But knows they would die anyway.
Even if they had survived,
Everyone dies someday.