Long & Winding Tale of a Deluge

MSJADELI from Tao Talk started this story at Teresa Grabs’ fun challenge, Finish The Story. Here’s her Opening Chapter:

The House on Clearwater Lake

A house sat perched precariously on the edge of Clearwater Lake. It was a house that should not have stood, yet stand it did. It had been there for centuries and locals swore the same couple lived there the whole time. Locals never knew how right they were until the day the rains started.

“It’s just a little rain,” Susan said, watching the couple pile water and canned fruit into their shopping cart.

The couple looked at the checker and smiled politely. “The rain will not stop,” they said, “we’ve seen this before.”

No sooner had the couple left, Susan but dropped her smirk as locals poured into the shop chaotically looking for food. The once spring storm skies have turned …

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Sadje’s Part 2

….. dark grey and water came down in sheets. People were scurrying away in the downpour with their bags of groceries clutched tightly under their umbrellas. Susan thought that it would be prudent to get some stuff for her family as well, just in case… What am I thinking! She nervously chided herself and yet she bought some bottled water, cans of soup and other supplies and started home. The umbrella she had was too flimsy and inadequate to handle the rain and she was soaked to skin when she reached her place. She met Dan at the door who was getting the kids inside. She sent an inquiring gaze towards him and was answered by a nod. Dan knew something but didn’t want to say it in front of the kids.

After dinner when they had sent the kids to bed, they discussed the elephant in the room.

“Do you think there is something to be worried about, the rain I mean?” Susan asked him.

Dan looked a bit worried but smiled at her question. “You have heard the rumor too?”

“I was there when the Jackson’s were buying water and other foodstuffs in the store today. She said that the rain won’t stop! Do you know what she meant?”

Dan looked uneasy and said…….

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Melanie’s Part 3

Dan looked uneasy and said, “Oh I suspect those people are just doomsday advocates. You know, those odd people who go about spreading lies about the coming end of the world!”

Susan frowned, disturbed at Dan’s cavalier attitude. “I don’t know about the doomsday idea,” she began, “sensible people have been telling us about the repercussions of our lifestyles for years and years. What do you think global warming is about, anyway?! All these horrid superstorms, which keep getting more and more severe. I wonder if there isn’t a grain of truth in the Jackson’s statement. Maybe the rain won’t stop this time.”

Dan snorted, but it was a weak uncertain sound. Susan knew he believed the same thing she did. But what to do about it? There wasn’t enough food and water available if the rain kept pouring down, not to mention the flooding that surely would occur and the destruction of life as they knew it.

Susan thought back to old traditions that she had grown up hearing about. Things about appeasing old gods and sacrifice. Maybe it was time for some out of the box thinking. Maybe someone should call Stephen King and ask him what he would do, if he were writing about the end of days brought about by a mega-storm, instead of a mega-virus. Susan shook her head at her whimsical train of thought.

The thing to do right now was to make sure her family was secure. Dan could put together some sandbags and …

There was a tremendous roaring sound and a portion of the side door nearest the small creek, broke apart. Muddy water began to pour into the hall. Susan screamed, out of pure reflex, and Dan and she clung to each other watching the water run. Out of the black night a voice boomed…

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Kristian’s Part 4

Making them jump, then stand and stare in astonishment.

“Come on, jump aboard, this is your last chance,” said a man with a long white beard standing on wooden hand made boat.

Susan grabbed her raincoat and her kids and jumped onto the boat and Dan was not far behind. They saw they were not the only people on board, several of their neighbours were there huddled inside the bowels of the boat.

There didn’t appear to be anyone steering or rowing the boat and yet, without rhyme or reason, it appeared to float down the watery avenue that had once been the main street of town.

The boat then sailed out onto the lake towards the island. The lights in the house were lit like a beacon, beckoning them in. The boat pulled up against a wooden jetty and the strange bearded man jumped out and tied the boat securely.

“Come on everyone, we’ll be safe on the island.”

When they arrived at the house, the front door opened and to everyone’s surprise…

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Fandango’s Part 5

…there were seven dwarfs standing in a reception line, greeting everyone as they walked into house’s foyer. “Oh my God, they are so cute,” Susan whispered to Dan.

Dan, always the skeptic, said, “I don’t know, Susan. I am not too keen on being ‘saved’ by some random, Gandalf-like Wizard who miraculously shows up at our home, shuffles us onto a crude wooden boat, and then leads us into Snow White’s house to be greeted by the likes of Dopey, Doc, Bashful, Happy, Grumpy, Sleepy, and Sneezy. Are we in the middle of some weird dream or are we dead, having perished when the muddy waters poured into the hall of our home? This whole situation makes no sense.”

Dan walked up to the man with the long white beard and said, “Where are we and what is going on here? We put our lives in your hands and you bring us to this strange house with these little people waiting to greet us. I need a rational explanation for all of this. I demand an explanation.”

The man with the long white beard glared at Dan. “Your cynicism is well placed, my friend,” he said. “We are at a way station, neither here nor there. We will remain here until fate guides us to our next steps.”

“What next steps?” Dan asked.

The man with the long long white beard smiled. “You are about to find out, my friend.” Just at that moment, the front door to the strange house flung open and standing in the doorway was none other than…

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StrokeSurvivor‘s Part 6

a small, clean -shaven man. As he gradually appeared in the dim light, Susan could see that he looked younger by some years, but there was no mistaking the family resemblance to her own “escort”. “I couldn’t find any more”, he said. More what? The question was left unanswered.

Susan, fortunately, was starting to think clearly. “We need a roll call”, she announced. “Do we know anybody who lives close by, who isn’t here?” For a while, there was silence. Dan was alerted by a tugging of his sleeve. He looked down to see his eldest daughter. “Mrs Brennan”, she whispered. Of course, old Mrs Brennan owned the beautiful Rose Cottage next to the creek.

Dan took control. “You’re right. We have to look for Mrs Brennan”, he said. “That creek will be bursting by now, we have to find her. We might be stuck here with a bunch of weirdos but we’re not in immediate danger. We need to find her and bring her here”. “That’s impossible”, a voice piped. It was Gandalf: “You can’t get off the island”. There were murmurs of agreement from the dwarfs, but Dan had to try something.

“Who’ll help me?”, he asked. From the rescued party, a man and a woman stepped forward. “We can’t just do nothing”, the woman said. “Okay, we all got torches? Make sure those coats are wrapped well!”, Dan said with an air of determination, before wrenching the door open again. Susan hugged the children. “Dad won’t be gone long”, she said, trying to stifle her own tears.

Outside, the rain was still lashing down. Even Dan’s powerful torch was not much use, and he stumbled twice as he retraced their steps from the boat. Finally, the three broke out of the woods and reached a small jetty. But instead of the boat they had just arrived in, they saw…

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New Epic Author‘s Part 7

the house on the edge of Clearwater Lake inundated by a mud mudslide. Mrs. Brennan was standing on the roof yelling her head off that she needed to be rescued, as the heavy rains triggered a mudslide that knocked her house off its foundation. Luckily, she was able to crawl out from under the wreckage to get on top of the house, before it was ripped apart. The roof was floating in the high waters and Dan couldn’t even guess where the rest of the house was. Dan yelled, “Delores, hold on we are coming to rescue you.” Delores said, “Of course I am going to hold on, but I need to know if you have seen my son Josh, as he was playing in his bedroom when the house came loose and I am afraid that the river may have taken him.” Dan handed his torch to George, man with a long white beard and he climbed onto the roof and told Delores to hold his hand as they were going to jump off together.

Once they were safely on the ground, Dan grabbed his torch back said, “Let’s go find Josh, he couldn’t have gotten too far and something in my bones is telling me that it is this way.” Dan indicated the direction with his torch and then the natural gas pipeline…

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My (Li from Tao Talk) Part 8

…..made a horrible screeching sound as the roof floated into it.

A hand reached from behind Dan and grabbed the torch and doused it in the water.

“Look!,” Jimmy, the tall fireman with the short dark curly hair said. Dan and the others looked to where Jimmy was pointing. The natural gas pipeline was broken, with gas escaping with a piercing hiss. The torch could have blown them all to smithereens.

Jimmy said, “Let’s split up, and half of us try to find Josh, and the other half come with me, to the fire station. We have a small fleet of boats all gassed up and ready to go. We don’t know how much longer the rain will fall, but there’s a good chance the island and the house will soon be underwater.”

Dan, Mr. & Mrs. Jones, and Delores set off to find Josh. Jimmy and George headed for the fire station to bring the boats back. They all decided to meet back at the same place in an hour.

The water continued to rise; slogging through it was tiring. Delores kept calling Josh’s cell phone but every time it went to voicemail. She wondered if Josh had snuck out again like he usually did when he was sent to his room. She called Misty, the mother of Billy, Josh’ friend. Misty picked up immediately.

“Misty, this is Delores. Josh isn’t at your house is he?”

“Delores, yes he is. He said you told him he could spend the night because you were afraid the river was going to rise and get to your house.”

“Thank God he’s safe. I didn’t say he could stay at your house but I’m glad he’s there and that you all live on the one hill this town has. Is it ok if I come over and stay with you all, at least until morning?”

“Sure Delores, come on over.”

Delores told Dan and Mr. & Mrs. Jones good luck and headed for the hill. The other three headed back for the rendezvous point with plenty of time to spare. When they got there, they climbed up on the roof and waited for Jimmy and George with the boats as the rain continued…

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Keith’s Ramblings Part 9

…to fall from the leaden sky.  They waited and they waited.  What was taking so long?

Delores was exhausted and drenched to the skin by the time she reached Misty’s house atop the hill.

“ Let me have your coat, Delores, I’ll get you a towel and a warm drink”

“Where’s Josh? she asked.

“In the front bedroom with Billy ”  Misty replied.

Delores ran up the stairs.  “Are you okay she called as she ran through the door.  Josh was nowhere to be seen.  She went from room to room.  Where was he?  And where was Billy?  She tried calling his cell phone.  From an open window, she heard a familiar ring tone. Josh’s ring tone.  On the veranda below, a phone glowed in the gloom.

Back at the rendezvous point, they were becoming concerned.  Over an hour had passed. Where were Jimmy and George?

“Look look, here they come!”

Two boats appeared.  However, their relief was short-lived.  The boats were empty.  Jimmy and George were nowhere to be seen.  There was only one thing for it, …

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Christine‘s Part 10

…and that was to capture one of those boats and get back to the island. Dan glanced at the rolling dark clouds above. This isn’t going to quit anytime soon, he thought, and the creek’s pouring all its water into Clearwater Lake. Before long that house on the island will be flooding, too.” He thought of that strange house where so many, including his family, had taken refuge. He was not going to let Susan and the children drown there if he could help it.

Matt Smith echoed his thoughts. “Clearwater Lake will be rising fast. We’ve got to get the folks at that house moved on to the hill on the other side.” His wife, shivering beside him, nodded in agreement.

However, with the three of them clinging to the roof of the Delores Brennan’s submerged home, the idea of rescuing the others seemed impossible. Dan looked toward the two boats tossing on the water and prayed for a miracle. If only one of them would swirl around this way!

They all turned at the sound of a shout from behind them and saw Jimmy waving from another boat. “Thank God,” Matt cheered, grabbing the rope Jimmy tossed him. He tugged the craft closer to the roof so Jimmy could reach them.

Jimmy jumped out of the boat and grabbed the rope from Matt. “I’ll hold ‘er. Get in quick, people.” Jimmy and Dan held the boat steady while Matt helped his wife, then Dan climbed aboard. Jimmy tossed in the rope and tumbled in beside Dan.

Dan pointed to the empty craft. “If we could reach those we could use them to rescue the others.”

“Exactly! They got away from us at the Fire Station but maybe we can grab them now.” He aimed their craft toward the others, now a good ways down the stream. “George has gone to rescue the Jacksons — you know that old couple that lived in the house by the edge of the lake.”

“I wondered what happened to them,” Mrs Smith commented. “Queer old pair, but I’d hate to see them drown.”

Dan nodded. “Sue said they were predicting this deluge. We should have taken them seriously.”

It had been raining hard before but as they reached the first empty boat, a terrific thunder shook the clouds overhead and rain came down in sheets. Water rose on the floor of Jimmy’s boat; the Smiths started bailing.

As the two craft met, Dan flung himself into the empty boat, landing with a splash in the water at the bottom. Could he keep this small craft afloat? With a last wave at the others, he crawled over to the motor. As he steadied himself, he wondered if it would even start in this deluge?

It had to. He had to rescue his family! He grabbed the starter cord and gave it a fierce jerk. The motor…
To be continued

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I’m nominating Linda at Linda’s Writing Blog to continue this adventure in whatever direction she chooses to go and then pass it on to another blogger — or bring the story to a conclusion if she wishes to do that.

Those ‘To-Do’ Resolutions

Ragtag Daily Prompt word this morning:  NEW BEGINNINGS
Word of the Day challenge:  RESOLUTION
The Daily Addictions word for today:  STOP

Good morning everyone!

I see we have a fine choice of seasonal prompt words this morning, reminding us of the resolutions we’ve made this week. Good news for my readers: my one resolution this year is to ALWAYS preview my posts before hitting PUBLISH. Maybe I can weed out those devious typos that want to creep in.

START WITH A LIST

I’ve read a couple of different articles recently saying that if people want to work smarter and accomplish their goals, they should make a To-Do list every morning. According to these time-management experts, making a list is the best way to zero in on your priorities. Even if you don’t get through the list, they say, even if your day gets sidetracked, it’s still advisable to set down on paper the things you want to accomplish. And keep it nearby, where you see it often. This help you to sort out and focus on the most important tasks.

I believe it. I’ve been told by some very efficient people that they make a To-do list every day. In fact, some people have their days and weeks regulated FlyLady style. As in, every Monday: one load of laundry; vacuum this room; wash that floor; clean this closet. And so on through the week. (I imagine the rule is: no hobbies, no blogging until these tasks are done.) This system becomes an ingrained habit and you never have to wonder “What am I going to do today?”

I’ve never been a list-maker. Yes, I usually think every morning of a couple of goals for the day, but I tend to waste time on fiddly things. Looking back, I’ve found that on days when I’m preparing for something special like dinner guests or a trip, and make a To-Do list first thing, I have gotten much more accomplished. But usually I tend to meander through my day with only a few vague goals.

So if I want to make a NEW BEGINNING, I can start with the worthy RESOLUTION to make a To-Do list every morning. Join the Fly-Lady and organize my week. STOP wasting time and work at accomplishing some main goals.

Sigh… Like the proverbial “Lose ten pounds,” this resolution has been made different times and abandoned. This system clashes big time with my attention-deficit tendencies and I end up just hoping there’s a place in this world for disorganized, inefficient, and scatter-brained people. 🙂

MY WEEK SO FAR

This week has definitely been a drifting one with no big accomplishments. My sister’s death still seems unreal, for one thing. I keep thinking, “It just can’t be! Surely she’s still there and we’ll see her the next time we go that way.” Also, “Why didn’t we talk a lot more? And talk about the important things of life?”

Also, on Monday I started feeling an infection coming on. I was hopeful for a quick recovery but was feeling so weary when we were shopping in the city Thursday. By evening I knew the infection was winning and I needed to see a doctor, so I went back to the city yesterday. You know how it goes: sit for two hours at a walk-in clinic; spend two minutes with the doctor; he verifies the problem and gives a prescription.

This antibiotic is amazing stuff! Kicked in right away. I hadn’t realized how ‘blah’ I felt until I started getting better and my energy started coming back. So maybe today I can tackle that To-Do list.

PRAY FOR RAIN

My petty worries are trifles when I read what’s happening elsewhere. This week blogger Frank Prem has been posting poems about the fires in Australia, the smoke blanketing his own community. I’ve looked online and seen maps — and was horrified to see they are fighting fires all over the continent. Read one of his verses here.

My heart aches for them — the lives, the homes, and all the flora and fauna being lost in those many blazes. I’m thankful that Canadian fire fighters have been sent to help combat this catastrophe, and praying for rain in Australia is high on my priority list these days.

Writing Prompts & Asteroids

“Hey, Nix.” Tanner watched his brother punching the keyboard with his index fingers. “Finally working on that bestseller?”

“Nah. Just doing a bit of writing exercise…in preparation for the day. I googled ‘writing prompts’ to see if I could find one that would light my fire.”

“Well, miracles still happen, they say.”

“Talk about overload! Here are eighteen pages of writing prompts. A few sites give 365, one for every day. And here’s another with 101 writing prompts. Some are specifically for fiction, some for journal, some to use as story starters. Hey! There’s even one called ’40 really awful writing prompts that no writer should use.’

“Cool! Everybody’s gonna want to check those out. So, what do they call a really awful writing prompt?”

Nixon clicked on the site and scrolled down. “These were written by Kim Z Dale and they are…yeah…some are pretty awful.

“Like?”

“Here’s the first: Write a story set on another planet exactly like our own. Call that planet “Earth’.”

Tanner moaned. “Okay. A definite lack of imagination. But you could embellish it, right? Make it Earth, but have everyone get along, people all bubbling with goodwill. The Fountain of Youth has just been discovered and the world is full of happy, smiling faces.”

“That would be a mega-miracle. I think this is supposed to be a regular Earth with everyday people living normal lives, going to school or rushing off to work, roaring along the freeways, pushing and shoving for bargains and fast foods, eyes glued to their phones.”

“How boring is that? You need some high adventure, some major catastrophe. Hey, I know. You could have a regular Earth, with normal people doing their stuff, then they find out a giant asteroid is streaking toward the planet and it’s going to blow the world to smithereens. People all over the world stop to watch the skies.”

“Um…technically only half the world would be able to see this at any given time,” Nixon reminded him.

“Spoilsport.”

“Anyway, they wouldn’t just stand there watching the skies for months. From the time we first knew it was coming, it’d take at least half a year to get here. We’d have months to get ready.”

“But what else would we do? No point working, buying stuff, putting money in the bank. No point planting a garden or anything if the planet was going to blow up. Maybe a great time to travel. See the world while it’s still intact.” Tanner chuckled, then thought for a moment. “I suppose religious folks would spend the time praying the world would be spared.”

“Hey, I’d be joining them!”

“And some folks might decide to make peace with their relatives. Write about some guy making peace with his family because they’re all about to be wiped out.”

“That’s an idea. ‘Sorry I’ve been such a pain, everybody.’ Lots of hugs and kisses. Nah, too intense.”

“Hey, it sells. People nowadays love intense.”

 “But you know, Tanner, the government would be saying ‘Not to worry, folks. We’ve got this.’ Calming everybody down, and NASA would be figuring how much to hit it with, long before it gets here.”

“Right. Most people would expect to survive somehow, though they’d be stocking up on survival rations, just in case. That’s what I’d do, trusting this would all blow over but ready for some fallout.”

“Yeah, a lot would say ‘It’ll never happen.’ After Y2K, when all the electronic and financial systems in the world were supposed to crash and things carried on like always, people have become cynics.” Nixon shook his head melodramatically.

“So are you gonna write about all this?”

“I dunno. It’d take hours. I see the Ragtag community does a prompt and their word for today is Embellish. And the Word-of-the-Day challenge is Miracle. Maybe I’ll try one of those and keep it short.”

😉

Global Storming

Good morning everyone and happy Thanksgiving to my fellow Canadians.

I want to extend sympathies to our suffering next-door-neighbours in the province of Manitoba, as residents there recover from a major snowstorm. They took quite a bashing at the end of last week.

News reports say that heavy wet snow, up to 60 mm of precipitation, fell across the province, leaving 32,000 residents without power, including most of the city of Portage-la-Prairie and 2000 in Winnipeg. Manitoba is asking for help from utilities in their neighbouring provinces and the state of Minnesota to help restore their system after power lines and pylons were damaged or downed.

The Mayor of Winnipeg and the provincial premier, Brian Pallister, both declared a state of emergency yesterday, according to today’s Winnipeg Free Press. This gives city employees and Manitoba Hydro work crews more authority to enter private property for assessment and repairs as well as and giving both governments access to additional support.

In addition to lack of power, Winnipeg’s emergency response manager Jason Shaw reported that, “At least 30,000 city-owned trees have been impacted by the storm, with a significant portion completely felled or damaged to the point where they may need to be cut down. There is no estimate how many non-city-owned trees have been damaged.”

Twenty years ago we were hearing so much about Global Warming, and since then we here on the prairies have seen some of the coolest, wettest summers in memory. My husband and his relatives were talking not long ago about the hot summers they remembered when they were young, back in the late 50s – early 60s and I can recall summers in the late 60s that daytime temps over 100 degrees F were common. In our old age none of us want to go back there, so we were giving thanks that climate change has been good for the prairies, with our cooler summers and more abundant rainfall. 🙂

I also recall that when I was a teen, weather forecasters were predicting a coming ice age, since globally temperatures were dropping. Considering that they had the 1930s stats factored in, that’s not so surprising. Summers on the great plains of North America were fiercely hot, winters fiercely cold, and all seasons fiercely dry. Temps had moderated a lot by the 1950s. As I recall, the idea of global warming swept in around the late 1980s. The world would get hotter and drier.

I’ve since read that the “proof” for global warming came from juggling weather statistics and omitting those that didn’t fit the theory. While I have a very small — and very regional — understanding of  world climate, from what I gather the globe really hasn’t gotten much warmer. Consequently the concept has been replaced by “climate change” — supposedly being responsible for the increase in severe hurricanes and storms we’re seeing in the news nowadays. Considering what our neighbours in Manitoba have just been through, “global storming” might be a more apt expression.

Weather history includes some really wild storms, like the freak thunder storm in July of 1935 that left a good strip of southern Alberta covered with 20 cm, or 8″, of hail.

I’m definitely against polluting the environment, but whether there are actually more — or more severe storms — in our day, I just can’t say.

Fire in the Wind

Hello everyone,

I read an interesting tidbit the other day from one of these life-coach-advisor types: If you have goals in life you really want to accomplish, or if you feel like your time management ability leaves something to be desired, leave the internet alone for the first three hours of each day. This includes cell phone calls and messages.

He claims most people who’ve achieved success in life don’t start their days online. They rather spend those first prime hours reading, meditating, focusing on goals and planning their day. Conversely, people who start their day hopping and skipping around the internet, reading e-mails, and leaving short comments or messages, tend to carry on through the day with the same lack of focus and end up not getting much done and feeling very unsatisfied.

I’ve decided to follow his advice and see how it works, as I’ve been very frustrated at my tendency to be distracted, or lack of self-discipline. So I tried it this morning: I left the computer alone and read some devotional thoughts about Easter — then focused on some needed housework.

The upside: I feel like I accomplished something today. 🙂
The downside: Morning is my prime writing time. If I got busy with other things, I don’t get to my computer until the evening. (Mind you, it dosn’t help that I have a jigsaw puzzle on the go right now. 😉 )

Now, on to the Fire Wind:

Today was warm and the wind gusting high at times — and it’s been extremely dry here this spring. I was outside for a few minutes around 5 pm and thought: a bad day for a fire. As I’ve mentioned, over the last couple of weeks I’ve been trying to burn our “trash pile” of dead and/or pruned branches. I had a little fire last Thursday, but then the municipal Fire Ban went into effect and we can’t burn ANYTHING now. Small wonder, though: last week Saturday our volunteer firemen were called out to three big fires in this area, and we heard there was a bad one near Saskatoon last Saturday.

I came in from outside and puttered around a few minutes, then opened the west side window, since it was so warm — and I got a strong whiff of smoke. Looked out and saw smoke billowing into the sky;  it seemed to come from the farm across the field about a mile south of us. We decided to drive out and see what was happening — after all, the wind was blowing the smoke in our direction and that does make one nervous!  When we reached the road our farmer-neighbour went by in his tractor and headed across the field toward the fire.

We heard later that our son-in-law, on his way home from work, spotted the flames and called in the alarm, then went back to fight the fire. Volunteer firemen arrived and then the firetrucks, and we saw our neighbour going back and forth across the field next to that farm, plowing a fireguard to keep the fire from spreading this way in the high wind.

It burned for at least an hour and now, several hours later, there are still flashing lights at that farm. The fire was burning in their trees, so I imagine some firemen are watching to see it doesn’t flare up again.

I haven’t posted anything in honor of National Poetry Month for a few days, but thinking of fire makes me think of Aussie poet Frank Prem’s book DEVIL IN THE WIND, about the devastating bush fires he witnessed in 2009. This promises to be a fascinating account in poem form! It’s for sale now on Amazon. Here’s the dazzling cover — and the link (Amazon .com)

Devil In The Wind: Voices from the 2009 Black Saturday bushfires (Poetry Anthology Book 2) by [Prem, Frank]