THE BEAST

No matter the weather or how I feel
I roll out of bed with knees of steel
The job today is the same as all the rest
I want the ranch to be known as the best

We started with nothin' but never feared the battle
There was no water, no roads, no house and no cattle
Every fence post sprouted from the drip of my sweat
Material was never cheap since the best is what I'd get

On a fair summer's day just this past year
Leaning on a shovel I was watching some deer
Then out of the corner of my eye it struck me
What I was seeing wasn't the shade of the tree

It was a rancher's worst nightmare, indeed
There was smoke, it was growing with speed
On the back side of the brush covered ridge it rose
Too big and too far to ever think of a hose

I dropped the shovel and ran to a phone
Breathless and scared I guided them home
It seemed forever before the first truck rolled in
Then came the second, third and fourth engine

Smoke from afar turned to tall flames coming near
Cattle and horses were panicked, also the deer
Solitude of chores turned to chaos in a single stroke
The dragon's breath was winning, flames and smoke

A winter's feed was nothing now but fuel for the fire
The column rose, flames marched on, the situation dire
The monster was loose and had chosen its course
The house and barns once so far from the evil source

I was alone that morning just working away
From out of nowhere strangers jumped in the fray
Airplanes, helicopters, dozers, trucks and men
Fought the hungry beast only hoping to win

Time stood still this frantic day
Heroes, them all, I would say
Neighbors stripped their shirts and swatted at flames
Horses were gathered, ash in their manes

Hours seemed like minutes and a minute like a day
The beast marched on, we could only pray
Then something happened that changed our fate
The fire burned right up to the gate

Men were struggling just to get some air
The beast would eat everything without a care
Just feet from the house the wind changed its track
A breath from above pushed the beast back