ASHES OF DESPAIR
| A perfect nature setting Picturesque and so serene Creatures grazing happily An Australian bushland scene A nature lovers heaven That fills the heart's desire Then suddenly the stench of smoke The crackling sounds of fire Around defenceless wildlife The inferno's flames are rife The creatures that grazed happily Now fleeing for their life This place they thought a haven A place where they could dwell Is now a place of horror Encased in flames of hell The smoke blocks out the sunlight And fills their eyes with pain The flames engulf their bodies Their fleeing is in vain Birds that once chirped happily The smoke chokes off their breath And soon they will fall victim To this chariot of death The fire front travels rapidly There is no place to hide A home reduced to ashes With the family trapped inside So many lives are taken From a peaceful neighbourhood Now ghostly, glowing embers mark The place a township stood I love this land Australia There's much here to admire But its scorching, drying summers Always hold the threat of fire It's a never ending story Because since settlement began Fires have swept this country Killing animals and man Fires were the ruination Of many pioneers The bushfires that spawn heartbreak And so many, many tears Walls of flame engulf the land It happens every year To witness this inferno Brings the very depths of fear It's the nature of this sunburnt land That not a year goes by When a bushfire doesn't threaten And too often humans die Firefighters battle bravely To stem the tide of flame And if the fire gets past them They are not to blame They fight the blaze from on the ground And fight it from the air They fight the flames in places Where the brave would only dare They fight with dedication From where the fires begin Sometimes the fight drags on for weeks But eventually they win They estimate three hundred Will be the human life that's lost And there's animals and birdlife How can we count the cost? We need an early warning system To alert those in its path We must strive with all endeavour To avoid this aftermath Families fight so bravely Husband, wife and children too To save their rural homestead They do all that they can do Some water pumps give up the fight But each scene the eyesight scans You'll see families so courageous Using buckets, pots and pans And in a little rural setting Hear a family's plaintive screams As the fire destroys their homestead And all their hopes and dreams And of the scenes on television There's some I won't forget A little child sobs sadly As he holds his deceased pet And a small, confused Koala That from man would usually shrink Finds a friendly fireman And accepts a cooling drink Faces tell the story They are sad and so bereft The fire has taken everything There's only ashes left And those who lost their loved ones Words can not console To see them in their anguish Penetrates the heart and soul In a trance-like state the families Their faces lined with care Seek mementos that they treasured In the ashes of despair Gone but not forgotten Is the lifestyle that they knew In the precious place their homestead stood There's nothing left to view Amid this devastation It takes such strength to cope But through all their grief and sadness You see a flickering light of hope I can't describe their suffering My words will not avail But through the heartbreak and the horror Their courage will prevail They will receive assistance Through the source of human might The hearts of all Australians Will be with them in their plight Hope soars above the ashes With a strength beyond belief Their resolve is not diminished They are united in their grief Their spirit is unyielding Though the path ahead is rough This fire will not defeat them They are made of sterner stuff They'll rebuild their homes and townships In their treasured bush retreat The spirit of the country folk Will never know defeat K.D. Abbott © 2009 |
| NOTES: This is merely a short list of bushfires that have claimed lives in Australia. Feb 7, 2009 - 209 people confirmed killed and fears of more fatalities in bushfires across rural Victoria. Dec 30, 2007 - Blaze kills three truckers on a highway near Coolgardie in Western Australia Jan 2006 - Three deaths and multi-million-dollar stock and property losses in 10 days of bushfires in Victoria. Jan 11, 2005 - Nine lives lost in South Australian Eyre Peninsula bushfires. Dec 2003 - Two women die as they try to outrun flames near Tenterden, 350km south-east of Perth. Jan 18, 2003 - Four people die and almost 500 homes are razed in a massive firestorm in Canberra. Dec 2002 - Two men die and more than 20 homes lost in bushfires that spread from rural NSW to ring Sydney. Dec 2, 1998 - Bushfire claims five firefighters at Linton in Victoria. Dec 2, 1997 - Two die in bushfires at Lithgow in New South Wales. Jan 21, 1997 - Three people die and 33 homes destroyed in bushfires that ravaged the Dandenong Ranges on Melbourne's eastern outskirts. Jan 1994 - Four die, 200 properties lost, several hundred people injured as bushfires from rural NSW descend on Sydney. Feb 16, 1983 - 76 people die in bushfires in Victoria and South Australia. Jan 8, 1969 - 23 people die in grassfires in Victoria across townships including Lara, Daylesford, Dulgana, Yea, Darraweit, Kangaroo Flat and Korongvale. Feb 7, 1967 - Bushfires kill 59 people in southern Tasmania. Jan 13, 1939 - Bushfires in Victoria kill 71 people and destroy several towns across 20,000 square kilometres of burnt land. |
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