LAMENTATIONS 1:1-6
(Reflecting on the plight of several communities in Victoria, Australia,
devastated by fire on what became known as Black Saturday, 7th February 2009.
173 people died and 414 were injured as a result of the fires.)
How lonely the town,
once full of people;
holiday-makers, day-trippers,
service providers, business owners,
children, parents,
grandparents and live-alones.
The fire came,
an all-devouring inferno
charging through the forest
on a raging hot north wind
and in its wake,
trees, black, burnt,
bare of leaf and limb,
homes turned to rubble, smouldering;
thick smoke,
acrid with fear, terror,
death.
Yet from another quarter
came a gentler breeze
with the sweet perfume of help
and hope.
© Jeff Shrowder, 2013.
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