Unreservedly Given
the edge of the night
curls against the reaches of the threadbare maples,
as desolate cold vacates into
zealous heat from the raging structure,
an almost déjà vu moment,
where figures in immense tan regalia
move in a frenzied and organized rhumba of labor,
voluntarily undertaking strife
against nature and disaster,
night by its nature
weaves into days where contorted metal
and splintered fiberglass
adorn the roadway like glitter
traversed over a child’s project,
hydraulic tools become a murmured lullaby
to dolorous wails,
without prompting the figures
shimmy to navigate
to preserve the mortal being,
in the hours in between
where practice and preparation exist,
where time is forgone to fundraise
to support for the needed tools,
there lies the understanding
of laughter and life shared
where from all avenues
we walk
from tradition to the novice,
we are a family self-chosen,
where once hundreds of thousands gave
now sparsely a quarter remain,
lest we nevermore degrade
and instead build up in
the respect we have
for the dedication we unreservedly give.
~T.J. Swisher
Written for and dedicated to:
Ridgebury Volunteer Fire Company Fireman’s Banquet November 4, 2017
