(pics courtesy of torontoist.com)
Notes from the Fire on Queen Street
MORNING
Chopper chopping the news
Copter hovering above like
A dragonfly suspended
Bulked up firemen; an older one is
Smoking a classic wooden pipe
“My feet are cold” he says
They climb into the idling
Red truck
At least a dozen trucks at
Intersection. These firefighters
Have been here for hours.
The younger ones are the
Grunts lifting canisters of
Oxygen
A slope of kindling across the
Sidewalk; the remains of what was
Once – and before that –
Behind it a steady
Fall of water – five hoses aimed
At the base, one from a tower
Pedestrians on cell phones
Some had heard the news
& came prepared with cameras
We’re all stepping over the
Police tape
The water from the crane
Hose is a solid tube of
Froth a good foot in
Diameter
It’s frigid. My hands are
Cracking from the cold
A beautiful sunny day
The mood is quiet &
Pensive
Axe chopping ice at the sewer drain
Thick boa constrictors of
Fire hoses on the pavement
Lying, some empty, like
Discarded skins & others
Full of water rats
In the middle
Of the city’s busiest intersection
Now transformed
Smoke fallout traveling
East. It will be a stinky walk
To work today
Five more trucks on Richmond
A man knocks at homes
To evacuate?
MORNING
Chopper chopping the news
Copter hovering above like
A dragonfly suspended
Bulked up firemen; an older one is
Smoking a classic wooden pipe
“My feet are cold” he says
They climb into the idling
Red truck
At least a dozen trucks at
Intersection. These firefighters
Have been here for hours.
The younger ones are the
Grunts lifting canisters of
Oxygen
A slope of kindling across the
Sidewalk; the remains of what was
Once – and before that –
Behind it a steady
Fall of water – five hoses aimed
At the base, one from a tower
Pedestrians on cell phones
Some had heard the news
& came prepared with cameras
We’re all stepping over the
Police tape
The water from the crane
Hose is a solid tube of
Froth a good foot in
Diameter
It’s frigid. My hands are
Cracking from the cold
A beautiful sunny day
The mood is quiet &
Pensive
Axe chopping ice at the sewer drain
Thick boa constrictors of
Fire hoses on the pavement
Lying, some empty, like
Discarded skins & others
Full of water rats
In the middle
Of the city’s busiest intersection
Now transformed
Smoke fallout traveling
East. It will be a stinky walk
To work today
Five more trucks on Richmond
A man knocks at homes
To evacuate?
There will be homeless
EVENING
Two crane ladders
EVENING
Two crane ladders
Still pumping streams
Street now lit up like
The film set of a
Horror pic
Haunted Fun House gone
Wrong
Facades iced in cake
Trees and wires hung heavy
With gaudy icicles
Crowds of people
With cell phones &
Cameras
Some smiling; excited
Others grim-faced
Bits of ash floating down
Or is it snow?
Street now lit up like
The film set of a
Horror pic
Haunted Fun House gone
Wrong
Facades iced in cake
Trees and wires hung heavy
With gaudy icicles
Crowds of people
With cell phones &
Cameras
Some smiling; excited
Others grim-faced
Bits of ash floating down
Or is it snow?