 | The Complete Works of James Whitcomb Riley |  |
2100
FIRE AT NIGHT
Fire! Fire! Ring! and ring!Hear the old bell bang and ding!
Fire! Fire! 'way at night,—
Can't you hear?—I think you might!—
Can't hear them-air clangin' bells?—
W'y, I can't hear nothin' else!
Fire! Ain't you 'wake at last!—
Hear them horses poundin' past—
Hear that ladder-wagon grind
Round the corner!—and, behind,
Hear the hose-cart, turnin' short,
And the horses slip and snort,
As the engine's clank-and-jar
Jolts the whole street, near and far.
Fire! Fire! Fire! Fire!
Can't you h'ist that winder higher?
La! they've all got past like “scat!”...
Night's as black as my old hat—
And it's rainin', too, at that!...
Wonder where their old fire's at!
| The Complete Works of James Whitcomb Riley | |