Past tense lives
Burnt, not buried.
Not people
Just statistics

A column of names
Unknown to most
The casualties
Listed A – Z

Repeating surnames
Four, or five
Families perished
Now past tense lives

People who won't wake up
And see the sun
Who died in the darkness
One, by one.

People who won't wake up
To see the rain
Smile, or laugh, or cry
Ever again

Soon to be forgotten
Frozen in time
Collected in the memories
Of those who survived

Families lost
Lives obsolete
A raging inferno
Their last memory

No belongings or hope
Left with the survivors
An outpouring of support
From complete strangers

Lives unfinished
Torn at the seams
Names in the paper
Words on the screen

So much lost
And little gained
Knowledge and facts
Coming a little to late

Two hundred people
At the last count
Burnt, not buried
Past tense lives

Authors Note:

On February 7th 2009, the Black Saturday Bushfires tore through places I have spent my childhood, places i have loved. I am only a viewer from the outside, but the more i think about what happened, the more horrible it seems. i watched a show about it a few night ago and the credits were made up of names of the victims. Listed A-Z, so many families perished together, unable to do anything to save even their own lives. Please, if you have anything to give, please do.

Lest we forget.