The Bushman & The Great Fire

'Twas a sunny summer morning,

As The Bushman rocked in his chair,

Talking to his mighty chestnut horse,

When a spark started a flare.

It slowly crept from leaf to leaf,

Over a hill not too far away,

Gradually gaining momentum,

Burning whatever was in its way.

Soon it was a roaring blaze,

Engulfing flora high and low,

Sending animals scattering fast,

Whilst creating a far seen glow.

When The Bushman first caught sight,

Of the great fires billowing smoke,

He quickly lept up from his seat,

Making contact with the village folk.

Meanwhile the great fire spread,

Vastly over the thick bushland,

Killing all that couldn't get away,

On the very spot that they did stand.

Roos bounded and lizards scurried,

As fast as they possibly could,

Cockatoos shrieking as they flew,

Evacuating homes of twiggy wood.

The great fire 'twas growing rapidly,

As it started burning on up the hill,

Towards The Bushman's homestead,

Creeping in every direction at will.

The Bushman saw it coming,

There wasn't much he could do,

So he grabbed his horses reins,

A shovel, and pioneer blade too.

Then off towards the fire front,

The Bushman bravely rode,

High up upon his mighty stallion,

Whom pulled well his heavy load.

A safe way from that great fire,

The Bushman went about his work,

Making a fresh dirt track clearing,

Hoping beyond the fire couldn't lurk.

He hadn't been working very long,

Before The Bushman got to see,

If his rather quick built clearing,

Would hold the great fire from lee.

As the great fire approached them,

The brave Bushman held his ground,

Watching, waiting, briefly celebrating,

As not a crossing spark was found.

So on he continued, working hard,

Creating that long fire break track,

Hopes of stopping the fire great,

Whilst sweat ran on down his back.

In the small village not far away,

From where the fire was ablazing,

Everyone was helping prep a crew,

Not a soul was found to be lazing.

In the moment they were ready,

To go face the great mighty fire,

They raced off in their big red truck,

Hoping the scene 'twas not too dire.

When at last they did arrive,

At the great fires closest edge,

They took one look and called in,

All reinforcements in full fledge.

By now The Bushman's fire line,

'Twas deep and rather very long,

There were however burning trees,

That could make it all go wrong.

The firefighters took to their hoses,

Trying to douse the spreading flames,

When they thought they had it beat,

The great fire sent out sparky lanes.

Thus on blazed that great fire,

Not bothered by what it burned,

All things flammable were consumed,

In every direction they turned.

Finally The Bushman's fire line,

Reached the distant gravel road,

But the firefighters had no water left,

So they went off to get another load.

When they returned, the tank refilled,

Along The Bushman's track they went,

The Bushman extended the other end,

Yet to the great fire 'twas bearly a dent.

At last the great fire was contained,

The Bushman's break 'twas finished,

As more firefighter crews arrived,

The great fires rage deminished.

They fought against that mighty blaze,

Thinking their victory may be nigh,

Alas, next they knew a tall gum fell,

Sending sparks all through the sky!

Unable to get there fast enough,

To stop the massive blaze ignighting,

Across the dirt clearing in the lee,

They now had extra fire fighting.

When The Bushman heard the news,

That the great fire had broken free,

He wielded around his mighty horse,

And headed for his home immediately.

That great fire was burning fast,

As The Bushman raced it home bound,

He had to get in front to fight it off,

Or else ashes would only be found.

He finally got ahead of the flames,

But alas it was too close behind,

So he grabbed what he could and fled,

Stopping to take one last look to remind.

Just as he was about to gallop off,

He heard a massive noise overhead,

Looking up he saw a giant chopper,

Soon that great fire would be dead.

A few of the choppers water drops,

Finally had the great fire defeated,

Though some logs still smouldered on,

There was no more destructive red.

And so The Bushman and all involved,

Regrouped to go and celebrate,

Swapping their soon well told stories,

Of their fight against that fire great.