Heard them coming
Hail the troops!
Saw them coming in khakis and boots
Berets and guerrillas
Make formation around the pavilion
Guiding the crowd and pulling injured from wreckage
Bricks fly like bombs; detonating tons
Can you hear them through the crumbling gutter?
See them through that cloak of smoke?
With camouflage suits and coats
Carrying a lifeless limp child in the safety of their arms
Safe from harm with the strength and toughness of a gentle mother
It’s like the world stops turning; the fires stop burning
The quietness of their faces reassures us not to be alarmed
We don’t know their names, but they risked it all and came
My eyes well up with delight; we have never seen such pride
Our whole country in turmoil, little resources beyond the soil
A typhoon struck us and we couldn’t keep a roof above us
Our tiny island’s past stuck us in the same old toil
Flooding waters washing away hope, so it’s hard to stay loyal
Each day we feared for life, burying our dead and crying for the sick
So the air remains thick; children blanketed by misplaced parents
We see them coming and not even the worst can tear us
Through the tears and horror on their faces, they pull us through
Providing help true and true to establish us anew
The first responders
We salute our highest honors
Someone help us! We screamed that day
Some of us jumped to our deaths in the street
The cloudy smoke and all the heat
A fire in apartment H – 1618
I couldn’t even cry; the smoke blocked my eye
The embers scorched my arm, I thought I would die
Through the blackness of that night, a glimpse of light
As two men reached a hand to pull us one by one
It was incredible; they had no fear and did not run
And when it was their turn, they were not so blessed
Stuck inside while the building burned; knocked to the floor
Watching in horror as they pulled their bodies out from the mess
The men who helped us weren’t in suits; they weren’t firemen
They were men who knew what to do;
Forget the peanut gallery, these were finer men
One last cheer; one last tear; as we lay their ashes to rest
The first responders
We salute our highest honors
Life in danger
See the wreckage; hear the noise
Separate the men from the boys
While they confess to the stress
Ready to help; no time to second-guess
Taking steps with one breath left in their chest
Every second is one to start living
The ones who look death directly in the eye
Stand tall with pride and accept the hand they are given
They may not come out winning; sometimes bullet-ridden
Put it aside and take the one last step to the edge of that cliff
Give their loved-ones one last kiss
Let their tears plummet at the summit
Decide how to ride that final track
Because when they take that step they can never come back
Walking through the calm mist
Reaching for the sun as their souls drift
The first responders
We salute our highest honors
Written by Fatal Dawn
Hail the troops!
Saw them coming in khakis and boots
Berets and guerrillas
Make formation around the pavilion
Guiding the crowd and pulling injured from wreckage
Bricks fly like bombs; detonating tons
Can you hear them through the crumbling gutter?
See them through that cloak of smoke?
With camouflage suits and coats
Carrying a lifeless limp child in the safety of their arms
Safe from harm with the strength and toughness of a gentle mother
It’s like the world stops turning; the fires stop burning
The quietness of their faces reassures us not to be alarmed
We don’t know their names, but they risked it all and came
My eyes well up with delight; we have never seen such pride
Our whole country in turmoil, little resources beyond the soil
A typhoon struck us and we couldn’t keep a roof above us
Our tiny island’s past stuck us in the same old toil
Flooding waters washing away hope, so it’s hard to stay loyal
Each day we feared for life, burying our dead and crying for the sick
So the air remains thick; children blanketed by misplaced parents
We see them coming and not even the worst can tear us
Through the tears and horror on their faces, they pull us through
Providing help true and true to establish us anew
The first responders
We salute our highest honors
Someone help us! We screamed that day
Some of us jumped to our deaths in the street
The cloudy smoke and all the heat
A fire in apartment H – 1618
I couldn’t even cry; the smoke blocked my eye
The embers scorched my arm, I thought I would die
Through the blackness of that night, a glimpse of light
As two men reached a hand to pull us one by one
It was incredible; they had no fear and did not run
And when it was their turn, they were not so blessed
Stuck inside while the building burned; knocked to the floor
Watching in horror as they pulled their bodies out from the mess
The men who helped us weren’t in suits; they weren’t firemen
They were men who knew what to do;
Forget the peanut gallery, these were finer men
One last cheer; one last tear; as we lay their ashes to rest
The first responders
We salute our highest honors
Life in danger
See the wreckage; hear the noise
Separate the men from the boys
While they confess to the stress
Ready to help; no time to second-guess
Taking steps with one breath left in their chest
Every second is one to start living
The ones who look death directly in the eye
Stand tall with pride and accept the hand they are given
They may not come out winning; sometimes bullet-ridden
Put it aside and take the one last step to the edge of that cliff
Give their loved-ones one last kiss
Let their tears plummet at the summit
Decide how to ride that final track
Because when they take that step they can never come back
Walking through the calm mist
Reaching for the sun as their souls drift
The first responders
We salute our highest honors
Written by Fatal Dawn