Guy Fawkes Night Poem by Steve Hancock

Slivers of wood phosphorous crowned
To vibrant flames do burst
To commence the pageant of 1605
In honour of king James I

Ravenous flames in upward clamber
Devour the Guy Fawkes pyre
An effigy of crude resemblance
Sits solemn upon its spire

Touch paper smoulders a shimmering glow
Like a slow releasing trigger
Till gunpowder rockets reach for the moon
In haste and untamed vigour

Catherine wheels breathe fiery rain
Pirouette to their burnt out fate
A spiral of smoke like a ghostly soul
Moves to rise then hesitate

Clashes of silver crimson and blue
Paint murals across the sky
Hours of toil upon factory floors
Explode in the wink of an eye

Sirens resound throughout the night
As negligence rears its head
The stench of treason poisons the air
Till the dying embers are dead