Hampton \ Valley Forge Volunteer Fire Department
Deep Thoughts

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Deep Thoughts

Poems That Touch Us

I WANT TO TELL YOU LIES


I want to tell that little boy his Mom will be just fine
I want to tell that dad we got his daughter out in time
I want to tell that wife her husband will be home tonight
I don't want to tell it like it is...
I want to tell them lies.

You didn't put their seat belts on, you feel you
killed your kids
I want to say you didn't...but in a way, you did.
You pound your fists into my chest, you're hurting
so inside
I want to say you'll be ok...
I want to tell you lies.

You left chemicals within his reach and now it's in his
eyes
I want to say your son will see, not tell you he'll be
blind.
You ask me if he'll be OK, with pleading in your eyes
I want to say that yes he will...
I want to tell you lies.

I can see you're crying as your life goes up in smoke.
If you'd maintained that smoke alarm, your children may
have woke.
Don't grab my arm and ask me if your family is alive.
Don't make me tell you they're all dead...
I want to tell you lies.

I want to say she'll be ok, you didn't take her life
I hear you say you love her and you'd never hurt your
wife.
You thought you didn't drink too much,
You thought that you could drive.
I don't want to say how wrong you were...
I want to tell you lies.

You only left her for a moment, it happens all the time.
How could she have fallen when you thought she couldn't
climb.
I want to say her neck's not broke, that she will be just
fine.
I don't want to say she's paralyzed...
I want to tell you lies.

I want to tell this teen his buddies didn't die in vain
Because he thought it would be cool to try and beat that
train.
I don't want to tell him this will haunt him all his life
I want to say that he'll forget...
I want to tell him lies.

You left the cabinet open and your daughter found the gun.
Now you want me to undo the damage that's been done.
You tell me she's your only child, you say she's only five
I don't want to say she won't see six...
I want to tell you lies.

He fell into the pool when you went to grab the phone.
It was only for a second that you left him there alone.
if you'd let the damn phone ring perhaps your boy would be
alive
But I don't want to tell you that...
I want to tell you lies

The fact that you were speeding caused that car to overturn
and we couldn't get them out of there before the whole
thing burned.
Did they suffer? Yes, they suffered, they were slowly
burned alive
But I don't want to say those words...
I want to tell you lies.

But I have to tell it like it is, until my shift is
through
And then the real lies begin, when I come home to you.
You ask me how my day was, and I say it was just fine
I hope you understand, sometimes...
I have to tell you lies.

Dedicated to all the Police Officers, Firefighters,
EMTs, Paramedics, Emergency Flight Crews, Hospital ER
Staff, Police, Security Officers and all Civil Servants
who deal with the tragedies of life and death. The
saddest of all, being those that could have been
prevented.

Wear your seat belts. Keep poisons, flammables,
fireworks, etc. out of reach of children. Keep your
smoke alarm in operating order, If you don't have one,
get one. Never, ever, drive if you've been drinking.
Never leave your toddler unattended. Teens, be
responsible drivers, obey all traffic lights, posted
limits, warning signs and signals at RR crossings. Keep
your guns locked and out of reach, buy a trigger guard.

Am I preaching? Am I nagging? I guess I am just telling
it like it is... Or I could just tell you lies...

Please send this to everyone you know and care about,
maybe it will make them think before they do something
deadly! And the next time you hear a siren in the
distance, Don't just say a prayer for the victims and
their families. Say a prayer for the people that face
these tragedies every day And do the best they can to
save someone that is loved.

We never see the tears of these brave men and women, but
God does.

Author unknown

I Wish You Could See!

I wish you could see the sadness of a business man as his livelihood goes up in flames, or that family returning home, only too find their house and belongings damaged or lost for good.

I wish you could know what it is like too search a burning bedroom for trapped children, flames rolling above your head, your palms and knees burning as you crawl, the floor sagging under your weight as the kitchen below you burns.

I wish you could comprehend a wife's horror at 3a.m. as I check her husband of 40 years for a pulse and find none. I start CPR anyway, hoping to bring him back, knowing intuitively it is too late. But wanting his wife and family to know everything possible was done too try too save his life.

I wish you knew the unique smell of burning insulation, the taste of soot-filled mucus, the feeling of intense heat through your turnout gear, the sound of flames crackling, the eeriness of being able to see absolutely nothing in dense smoke-sensations that I've become too familiar with.

I wish you could understand how it feels to go to work in the morning after having spent most of the night, hot and soaking wet at a multiple alarm fire.

I wish you could read my mind as I respond to a building fire "Is this a false alarm or a working fire? How is the building constructed? What hazards await me? Is anyone trapped?" Or to an EMS call, "What is wrong with the patient? Is it minor or life threatening? Is the caller really in distress or is he waiting for us with a 2x4 or a gun?"

I wish you could be in the emergency room as a doctor pronounces dead the beautiful five-year old girl that I have been trying too save during the past 25 minutes. Who will never go on her first date or say the words, "I love you Mommy" again.

I wish you could know the frustration I feel in the cab of the engine or my personal vehicle, the driver with his foot pressing down hard on the pedal, my arm tugging again and again at the air horn chain, as you fail to yield the right-of-way at an intersection or in traffic.
When you need us however, your first comment upon our arrival will be, "It took you forever to get here!"

I wish you could know my thoughts as I help extricate a girl of teenage years from the remains of her automobile. "What if this was my sister, my girlfriend or a friend? What were her parents reactions going to be when they opened the door to find a police officer with hat in hand?"

I wish you could know how it feels to walk in the back door and greet my parents and family, not having the heart to tell them that I nearly did not come back from the last call.

I wish you could feel the hurt as people verbally, and sometimes physically, abuse us or belittle what I do, or as they express their attitudes of "It will never happen to me"

I wish you could realize the physical, emotional and mental drain or missed meals, lost sleep and forgone social activities, in addition to all the tragedy my eyes have seen.

I wish you could know the brotherhood and self-satisfaction of helping save a life or preserving someone's property, or being able to be there in time of crisis, or creating order from total chaos.

I wish you could understand what it feels like to have a little boy tugging at your arm and asking, "Is Mommy okay?" Not even being able to look in his eyes without tears from your own and not knowing what to say. Or to have to hold back a long time friend who watches his buddy having rescue breathing done on him as they take him away in the ambulance. You know all along he did not have his seat belt on. A sensation that I have become too familiar with.

Unless you have lived with this kind of life, you will never truly understand or appreciate who I am, we are, or what our job really means to us...I wish you could though.

~ Author unknown ~



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Our thoughts and prayers go out to our fellow firefighters and medics in New York. You and your families have made the ultimate sacrifice. Thank You and God Bless You