Three firemen came to our house tonight
Three young men in full firefighting regalia.
Bella announced their presence
Before they ever rang the bell,
Letting us know there were men
With flashlights on our porch.
When I opened the door, they said they were there
Because of the smoke alarm. I told them that
It was only my husband, frying pork chops
On the stove top in the kitchen.
They said they knew the smoke alarm had been
Turned off—that they only came to see if we needed
Help blowing the smoke out of our house.
We told them thank you—we were fine. We told them
We had three extra pork chops, if they were interested.
The youngest, a sweet-faced, kind young man,
Looked back at me as though he might be hungry right then,
As though he might be tempted to take me up
On my offer of a slightly undercooked chop.
The others insisted that it was time to go,
And so they did—the three of them,
Walking with their maglites in the dark back down our
Very straight, steep driveway.
We didn’t really need them tonight,
But, smoke alarm or not, they were here.
I’m glad they came, those bright-eyed, sweet young men,
Brimming with purpose in their heavy suits of yellow and black.
They came to help us when we didn’t need them.
I’m glad they did.
It’s a blessing to know they are so close if you do need them. What is amazing sometimes is there are still so many willing to help even when they are not needed. Restores our faith in people, don’t you think? Yes, I know they are paid…but they weren’t called so that has to count for something…right?
Your sweet poem made me tear up. Just this week we helped a friend in Yarnell move into her new home, built by volunteers and donations to replace the one that burned last summer, when the 19 sweet, young firefighters died trying to help. I’m glad those firefighters came to your home.
You’ll find that Remains of Innocence, the upcoming Joanna book, is dedicated to the Hotshots.
Nicely done! Like the poetic tale — and yes, it is nice to know they are available to assist, needed or not, though it must have been a slow shift for them. I can’t imagine they would come for a turned off smoke alarm if they were really busy with lots of or much bigger problems.
Maybe you should have taken them up on the smoke blowing thing…maybe they were hoping for practice…maybe
Love you JA You always capture exactly what makes words come alive
I’m awash in tears. This really touched me.
Recently I had an experience with an out of control grass fire that my neighbor happened by and found at my grandparents old home place. The house isn’t much more than old shack with some of the windows boarded up but holds a lot of memories. Still it is a blessing when someone these days will stop what they are doing and put out a fire you started. Of coarse it was an accident but still.
Beautiful story and thanks to all firefighters for their courage !