A Question of Faith

‘I’d swear that the sun is hotter,’ she said,

‘It’s hotter than I can recall,

The garden’s turned into a desert, is dead

My plants are fried up to the wall.’

I said I agreed, the car was so hot

I often got scorched by the steel,

The belt with the buckle was always red hot

And so was the steering wheel.

 

I said you could tell by the state of the road

Could tell by the bitumen melt,

The surface was shiny with liquefied tar

The heat off the surface you felt.

Beyond was the countryside, brown and bereft

Not a single green shoot could you see,

The bushes were brown from the top to the ground

And there wasn’t a leaf on a tree.

 

‘The place is like tinder, it just needs a spark

And it all will go up with a roar,’

We couldn’t survive in the smoke from the park,

We would have to be gone, well before.

I told Desdemona to pack us a case,

Just those things we would need on the run,

Some food and some water, a doll for our daughter,

Remember to pack us a gun.

 

We took it in turns to keep watch through the night,

To listen to every slight breeze,

The heat was intense, we looked over the fence

For any strange light through the trees,

It came from the valley, that terrible roar

So we knew that the demon was out,

Some one lit a spark way down in the park

And Des raised the house with a shout.

 

The three of us piled in the four wheel drive

And headed up over the hill,

The terror of flames in the rear view mirror

Have plagued and have haunted me still.

The wind had been gusting and fanning the flames

Pursuing us on our retreat,

Had crept up beside us and threatened to ride

Ahead to our certain defeat.

 

The heat so intense it had cracked the screen

And blistered the paint on the door,

When Desdemona let out a scream

To point to the gun on the floor.

‘Is this why you asked me to pack the gun,

Is it either that, or burn?’

I’d not meet her eyes with a tissue of lies

So I masked my own concern.

 

I heard her pray as the tyres caught fire

And exploded, one by one,

I kept the pedal flat to the floor,

It was either that, or the gun.

Then out of the darkness loomed a lake,

It was water up to the doors,

We came to rest where the water blessed

With the fire held back by the shores.

 

The skies were grey and they opened up

With God’s good grace at the dawn,

I held my wife and my daughter close

As the rain made us feel reborn,

When the people tell me there is no God

I just smile, and I let them go,

If he isn’t there then I find it odd

That he sent the rain…  I know!

 

David Lewis Paget

Reviews

[Calamityofgin]

Yes sweetheart, this feels most personal...you built beautifully a purgatory like atmosphere, the combustibility was palpable...then wooosh! Incendiary desperation..an apocalyptic feel for a moment...then ah...water...and arms around family. There is nothing better than holding a loved one good and tight after a scary situation...
My favorite of yours i think Darlin...because of the personal feel I mentioned.

Much love
Calamity of Jennifer

[TPK Stories]

Sometimes it's faith that is all we have...well written tale...

[andrew mitchell]

A pleasant write David We need rain!

[MomzillaNC]

The driving pace and theme of this one and the lines that seem to be leading to tragedy… but then end as it does. The way this one ends is so comfortably intimate and assured, so wrapped in peace.

[David Scott]

Faith... Not stupidity, but empowered conclusion based on our experiences and gathered evidence. After all, to the thinking person, nothing is provable. Everyone who believes anything believes it in Faith.
Thank you for pricking the skin on this topic.

[Acataleptic]

Brilliant
Brilliant
Brilliant

[R Smith]

stunning David, just absolutely brilliant, the horror of wild fire just demonically pursuing you across country was so vividly portrayed and the terrible choice 'Fire or Gun' what an emotional piece! You have excelled again my friend :)

[surfingdragoncat]

i like the contrast of the seriousness of the situation with the gun. The beginning made me feel like i was in a zombie thriller, with the tense action. Then the realization that the gun might be the only option to evade the "demon" made me almost cringe. Glad the rain came, didn't want that grisly ending. He is here, I know!

[Barbz]

But for the Grace of God, my family and I could be characters In a similar scenario. Living in California and Las Vegas since 1977, we have witnessed the flames of death and the despair of Arid. I am very touched by the content of this work, climaxing in the manifestation of a force beyond scientific and the laws of nature..I was touched by your reference to a higher power!! Barbz