The Parts They Don't Tell You Poem by Adrian Law

The thing about a gas leak is
It's hard to detect
You have to be careful
Not to spark a flame
And create a bigger problem
So you manage the gas leak

The thing about a spark is
Sometimes you never see it coming
You could be doing all the right things
But still
By no fault of your own
And you don't know what to do

The thing about fire is
It doesn't care how people see the flames
It knows who it is
Both destruction and comfort
You can never really know which one you'll get
The warm campfire
Or the burned down house

The thing about the smoke
It's most dangerous immediately after the flames die
You think
"the fire is out so it's safe to come back"
But the smoke
Leaves lasting damage
It's thick
And toxic
The smoke
Makes it hard to breathe