The Burning

A tsunami of choking, black, smothering smoke
Columns of scorching fire destroying everything in their path.
My lungs scream for air
The heat burns
We resist it.
Fire consumes everything in sight
Sirens pierce ears, in the distance you can hear the sound of a baby crying.
Fear so great it becomes tangible
Trees yell in pain and cry out in warning
Helicopter blades try to come close but are battered back by the heat.
Legs run to the beach, but neither rocks nor water would stop the flames.
A car's engine hums into life,
A clear path.
Off the dirt path onto the tarmac we stand back
To watch our home, the trees, trucks and town collapse and burn.
Safe, escaped but burned forever in my mind.