I.
Sudden lightning - storm - fire
Breaks out, lashing jagged edge of fear
My thoughts froze, my emotions on spire
I ran for safety, finding relief & cheer
Though all my stuff are gone, trivial and dear
II.
He never complained - not of aches
Not of dreadful thoughts that steals breath
He worked, saving homes, forests, lakes,
Creatures being devoured by death -
Dark was day, night was hell, no breaks -
*A tribute to all the brave fire fighters everywhere. Happy Thanksgiving to our USA friends.
Posted for dVerse Poets Pub - Form is Quintain, 5 lines. I will be introducing the English quintain and Spanish quintain.
The first poem is an English Quintain:
The rhyme scheme for English quintains is usually A-B-A-B-B. There is no set measure or foot (the number and type of syllables or feet).
The second poem is a Spanish quintain or quintilla. The Quintilla is a 16th century Spanish Quintain form of eight syllable (Iambic Tetrameter) lines. The rhyming scheme can vary in presentation, but only two consecutive lines may have the same rhyme pattern. I have used A-B-A-B- A.
The wildfires are devastating. Those who are fighting those fires and truly heroic. A wonderful tribute.
ReplyDeleteGood reminder that what fire removes is both the "trivial and dear".
ReplyDeleteGlobal warming looms like mastodons run amok. Your poem is a wonderful tribute to the unsung heroes who fight wildfires; this year's the worst in history.
ReplyDeleteGreat final line. Pure hell.
ReplyDeleteHell it sure can be fighting them. Firefighters do so much.
ReplyDeleteWe had so many wildfires this summer... but so much worse in California... I also remember the devastating ones outside in Athens... You cannot blame a single fire on climate change, but you can blame the frequency.
ReplyDeleteSo hard to fathom the extent of damage - you express so well how things are turned upside down by the furor of raging fire.
ReplyDeleteyou have honored the victims from the fires and those who fight the fires so well here
ReplyDeleteExcellent tribute to those who risk everything to fight fires. I especially liked the second stanza.
ReplyDeleteGreat poem Grace. I think it was Hell both day and night during this fire!
ReplyDeleteWonderful Grace, and how truly sad these tragedies. Some will say its the natural order, and some certainly are, if started by lightning, or the spontaneous combustion of nature's decaying natural compost. But nothing "natural oder" about a human setting a campfire that runs wild.
ReplyDeleteSuch a heartfelt tribute. I love the parallelism and the contrast. Fear and bravery.
ReplyDeleteloss like that is devastating, a keen appreciation of life forms out of the ashes and ruin, your poem is a lovely tribute Grace
ReplyDeleteI especially like the second one. Nice tribute to the firefighters!
ReplyDeleteI had friends who lost homes in the fire. Devastating, but not as heartbreaking as the lives lost.
ReplyDeleteYour shift of voice from the first stanza to the second is quite effective; gives weight to the perspectives.
ReplyDeleteThe fires are absolutely horrifying. I hate to see the predictions that came out today about further effects of climate change in the US.
ReplyDeleteGrateful with you, Grace, for fire fighters in California and everywhere.
ReplyDeleteMuch respect for those brave men and women. That combination of trivial and dear is excellent.
ReplyDeleteA wonderful tribute, Grace!
ReplyDeleteI didn't realise that the fires were started by lightning, Grace. I like the expression ‘lashing jagged edge of fear’, which, when read aloud, sounds threatening.
ReplyDeleteI.
Sudden lightning - storm - fire
Breaks out, lashing jagged edge of fear
My thoughts froze, my emotions on spire
I ran for safety, finding relief & cheer
Though all my stuff are gone, trivial and dear
II.
He never complained - not of aches
Not of dreadful thoughts that steals breath
He worked, saving homes, forests, lakes,
Creatures being devoured by death -
Dark was day, night was hell, no breaks -
Wonderful tribute poems, Grace!
ReplyDeleteI can't imagine what the people went through--so many people still unaccounted for. And yes, those brave firefighters and all "the helpers."