Sirens by Caroline McCann

Somewhere in the silence I hear some sirens sing, 

They skitter through the streets, they haunt and they ring

I sit here in the still in my bed in the dark

Wake up now, wake up; you’re late to the start. 

I feel the fear ready as it raps on my sill

Get up kid, get moving, there are big shoes to fill 

The fire is hungry; it builds and it builds, 

It licks over the shotgun, safety on but it kills 

It’s head of the house now but I won’t be fed

If I starve that’s alright; I might’ve been shot instead 

I choke on the screams, smoke and mirrors in the dark. 

Cracked reflections that show us what they think we are 

A call comes from inside the house, the pain lasts

because nothing in this world hurts like a cut on broken glass.

While water is wasted and the cover is gone 

If I squint into the flame it almost looks like red dawn 

Tell me are we a phoenix or a funeral pyre,

Could we survive in the dark if we put out the fire?  

I whisper to a lair, please don’t break my heart 

Sirens thunder, I wonder why we still trust a spark.