A Firefighters' Gloves
By Pat Brown


A Firefighters' Gloves hold many things
From elderly arms to a kids broken swing
From the hands they shake and the backs they pat
To the tiny claw marks of another treed cat

At 2am they are filled with the chrome
From the DWI who was on her way home
And the equipment they use to roll back the dash
From a family of 6 she involved in the crash

The brush rakes in spring wear the palms out
When the wind does a "90" to fill them with doubt
The thumb of the glove wipes the sweat from the brow
Of the face of a Firefighter who mutters "What now"

They hold inch and halves flowing one twenty five
so the ones going in come back out alive
When the regulator goes; then there isn't too much
But the bypass valve they eagerly clutch

The rescue equipment, the ropes, the C-collars
The lives they save never measured in dollars
Are the obvious things Firefighters' Gloves hold
Or, so that's what I've always been told

But there are other things Firefighters' Gloves touch
Those are the things we all need so much

They hold back the rage on that 3 am call
They hold in the fear when your lost in the hall
they hold back the pity, agony, sorrow
They hold in the desire to "Do it tomorrow"

A gloves' just a glove 'till its on Firefighters
Who work all day long just to pull an all-nighter
And into the fray they charge without fear
At the sound of a "Help" they think that they hear

When Firefighters' hands go into the glove
Its a Firefighter who always fills them with love
Sometimes the sorrow is too much to bear
And it seeps the glove and burns deep "In there"

Off comes the gloves when the call is done
And into the pocket until the next run
The hands become lonely and cold for a bit
and shake just a little thinking of it

And they sit there so red eyed with there gloves in there coats
The tears come so fast that the furniture floats
There're not so brave now; their hands they can't hide
I guess it just means that they're human inside

And though some are paid others are not
The gloves feel the same when its cold or its hot
To someone you're helping to just get along
When you fill them with love, you always feel strong

And so when I go on my final big ride
I hope to have my gloves by my side
To show to St. Peter at that heavenly gate
Cause everyone knows; Firefighters don't wait

Thanks God