Furth Steps Forth

… when firemen pried up planks from the sidewalk near the north end of the block, intense heat drove them back. The basements of buildings were roaring furnaces …

Jacob Furth, dressed in tails and top hat,
was hastening across Western Avenue
when he saw smoke rising around a slat
near the curb. He hailed a fire crew
busy hauling hoses toward the dock
at Pier Two, then knelt on the boardwalk
to get a closer look. Felt the plank
for heat. As the firemen began to yank
loose the boards, Furth stepped back
to survey the entire block. Up the street
there was a shout, then a blast of heat
as the firemen fell back, their faces black
with smoke. Furth stepped forth … nervous …
the basement itself was a roaring furnace.

Comments

  1. Angelico Nguyen, Esq., OP says

    Yes!

    And a cliffhanger ending, too.

  2. Matthew Lickona says

    Wasn’t this going to be a book or something?

  3. Jonathan Potter says

    Aside from punching out another kickass sonnet, it seems you’ve also just lobbed an easy homerun pitch to our illustrator. What a tale that top hat and tails tells!

    • Angelico Nguyen, Esq., OP says

      ‘What a tale that top hat and tails tells!’

      Poetry! — and great ad copy for Korrektiv’s evening-wear-rental subsidiary.

  4. Oh Quin, that was terrific.

  5. Quin,

    The suspense builds like a good cocktail.

    Good on’ya!

    JOB

Leave a Reply to Angelico Nguyen, Esq., OP Cancel reply

*