The Hills, Alight

A commemorative to the countless volunteer firemen in Marion County and elsewhere across Texas and the South, who have given so much to total strangers.

THE HILLS, ALIGHT

 

Entrenched among the hills, alight,

The valiant firemen  stand

And press the battle day and night

To save our smoking land

 

Though we may never know your names,

Your courage we know well"

Our herds, our homes, our forests too

You’ve spared from Marion’s hell!

 

Chorus:

 

Fire is the Foe this day

But that shall pass away

Our God hears us cry, and pray;

Our urgent pleas He hears!

 

 

En Texas, et Louisiane

And Oklahoma, too

The planes, the ‘copters and the men

Are doing what they do

 

The pines from ashes skyward climb,

Like Phoenix bird of yore

Our ruined fields shall heal with time;

The South shall green once more!

 

Chorus 2:

 

Th’fire’s left us yet again

Now, reach out to your friends.

Praise all of those valiant men

Who gave, despite their fears!

 

 

MARK TEAGUE SEPTEMBER NINTH, 2011

Author's Note

The meter of this will be much more apparent, if you are acquainted with an old hymn called "Faith is the Victory", whose first line (Encamped along the hills of light, ye Christian soldiers, Rise!) was the inspiration for this poem.

Reviews

[patricia]

oh this is just what i needed, the beat had me skipping, the first and second stanza were so so good...the pines stanza was my favourite...i have to admire those who work so bravely, and for every person facing fears, who isnt? Mark..this was beautiful, i admire your skills so much. Thankyou.

[Jasmine]

Your poem is pleasantly easy to read, you word choice and imagery beautiful. Although I know very little about this subject, you've given me a window to look through.
Wonderful, as usual.

[Muse]

With your note to the reader it all fits together very well. I'm sad that this crisis took and ruined so many lives. But in the end....our bravest will stand! The broken will heal, and we can always rebuild. But we cannot bring back the lives lost to Mother nature's fevered fit.

[Judy Ponceby]

Wow! A most excellent tribute to selfless heroes. We would all do well to express our appreciation in such an eloquent way.

[joshua deathdealer]

Nicely done. It read like and old hymn. I like how your inspiration carried over and the story portrayed in this write.

[Aaron M. Anderson]

I love this, especially since it sounds good in the rhyme scheme you've chosen. It's a nice tribute to those brave men and women. Thanks for sharing this!

[Larry Dyson]

most excellent Mark ..fits right in..how did you think of this?