There was movement at the station, for the word had got around
That a member of the force had left the team.
He had had his fun, he said, but police work got him down
And to be a firefighter was his dream.
 
Well, his partner disagreed and so with faces grim and dark
They dissected the important pros and cons –
How the budget cuts had left them fighting criminals with fruit
And how squirting fires was really such a lark.
 
In the end it took some talking, but the tall one made his case,
And when someone grabbed some buckets and a hose,
Well, it turned out fighting fires was a game they could embrace …
But now Mum says they have to change their clothes.   

© by Belinda Veldman.
Used with the author’s permission.