PLEASE NOTE: Names and places and certain facts have been altered to protect the privacy of the firefighter's families. This story is copyrighted to Kalvere, "Kal the Rebel" Please do not reproduce without author's permission. Kalvere, the author, is from Minnesota and would welcome any comments at the following email address: KalTheRebel@aol.com.

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 fell from there? 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 that it'd be cool to try to 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 wont see six, I want to tell you lies

He fell into the pool when you just went to grab the phone

It was only for a second that you left him there alone

If you 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, as they 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

~Written from the heart of Kal The Rebel ~

Dedicated to all the Police Officers, Firefighters, EMTs, Paramedics, Emergency Flight Crews and all civil servants who deal with the tragedies of life and death. The saddest of all, being those that involve children, and 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, warnings and signals at RR crossings ... keep your guns locked out of reach, buy a trigger guard.... Protect our children, they are our future... Am I preaching? Am I nagging? I guess I am just telling it like it is.... Or I could just tell you lies.

Peace Love and Light

Kalvere

Copyrighted to Kalvere. Do not reproduce in any form without the author's express permission. Kalvere, the author, is from Minnesota and would welcome any comments at the following email address:

KalTheRebel@ aol.com

A MESSAGE FROM KAL:

In has recently come to my attention that my poem "I Want To Tell You Lies" has been reproduced on many websites without my knowledge or consent, often written as "Author Unknown". I am not "Unknown", I am Kal! If you see this poem posted anywhere without my name AND complete copyright (as written above), then it is posted without my consent. Please send me an email with a link to where you saw it so I may address the copyright violation. My poems and stories are deeply personal and written from my heart, I do not mind sharing, I just want my name and copyright information attached, and my permission asked. Thank you. Be safe. Peace out, ~Kalvere

The only website other than my own that is authorized to post my poems and stories is this:

http://www.firefightersrealstories.com/voiceff.html