Firefighters

we were asked to write poems for the members of city's volunteer fire department, who recently lost a beloved member in the line of duty. This is my contribution

Maybe we can never scrub

all the stains of charring

off our sidewalks and buildings

and forests; places where

human error and malice

scored some temporary victory.

Yet- maybe every day, is too,

one more chance, one more way

to honor those whose love

for their community and world

shines like a beacon among

acts of apathy, neglect, accident-

-or hate- that would make it darker.

 

Those who have been there, tell us:

when the brave of heart face

the heat of the unendurable, it is not

the terrible thing in front of them

that the mind fixes upon. It is Love.

Their first love, truest love, last love.

Children born, unborn.

Children that were never considered.

Those pure, perfect moments.

Jet-skiing across a lake in Mexico. 1997.

That night on Acatenango. 2002.

Falling in love under a streetlight. 2013.

Getting your certification. 2015.

 

When someone starts each day knowing,

that obligation may call on them

to make it their last day- that person

has something to show us all

about how to love in the glory

of today. Maybe I am wrong, too, but

I also think: these people stay present

in the world, through a whole

lifetime of tomorrows. Maybe Heaven

declared war on the earth, and calls

her best arbiters to show both sides

how to fight more justly.

 

Shamans tell us, some smoke cleanses

spaces. Some smoke is sacred.

Likewise, not all fire destroys.

There is clean fire, that clears debris,

statue at the Trade Center Memorial, commemorating firefighters lost in the line of duty

that ignites the human heart,

or sets injustice aflame. Stomps out

ignorance in its breeding places.

The other fire shows us how small

we really are- it rages through our

streets and mountains. If unchecked,

it is a force with the power to undo

all the beauty we would protect.

 

For that first fire, we have

our poets, teachers, artists.

Scientists. Philosophers.

For that second kind of fire:

God gave us all the firefighter.

-International Poet Marie Anzalone

written for the Xela Volunteer Fire Department

March, 2018

Statue in Manhattan commemorating NYC Fire Departments who lost members in the WTC attacks. 

Author's Note

“Now every night I try to sleep/ I’m haunted by the sound/ of firemen pounding up the stairs/ as we were running down.”

-folk song “The Bravest” by Tom Paxton, in honor of the 343 NYC firefighters lost on September 11, 2001

Author’s note: I was there that day, just outside of NYC. I was supposed to be in the towers, but I had inexplicably canceled my visit. We watched it happen, we smelled the world burning. The event marked the day I decided to dedicate my life as a US citizen to larger service to the world- and that first brought me to Guatemala. I will always stand by the brave men and women everywhere in the world who run towards the sounds of sirens, explosions, gunfire, and structural collapse that cause the rest of us to run for our lives. Thank you for your service to Xela, and from my heart, sorry for your recent loss.

Reviews

[Travis Gibson (poetic h..]

Wow... beautifully powerful! An incredible piece for unearthly men/women! Take a bow, you have done them proud here! And let me add... what a closing! Bravo! To any serviceman (or women) reading this, thank you. Your sacrifice is noticed. To any loved ones/comrades of those who fell in the line of duty... my condolences and gratitude goes out to you as well!

[Marie Anzalone]

Travis, the words of your review are beautiful and I thank you for them. I read this aloud for our city's firefighter's the day of our event (the version I translated into Spanish), and we left copies of all of our works with them at the station. Our collective works moved them to tears. Right now, these brave men and women are doing search and rescue in unimaginable conditions left behind by the devastation of a volcanic eruption 2 hours away. They deserve all the recognition they can get, and more.

[Travis Gibson (poetic heroics)]

That they do.

[The Rock And Roll Cowbo..]

There are sparks f inspiration all around us that can start a sire in our souls that motivate us to do things we never thought of doing. That is what I take from this fantastic poem my friend.

[Marie Anzalone]

there is the necessary fire of the soul- and the destructive fire of hatred and burning of homes and resources. I speak of both here... thanks for noticing, and for taking the time to read and review.