Devil In The Wind

By Frank Prem

Step into the heart of wildfire. Feel the heat, breathe the smoke.

Devil In The Wind is an account of catastrophic fire and its immediate aftermath.

In this 21st century, the whole world seems to be on fire. America burns. Europe burns. Greece is reeling after its own tragedy of fire.

And Australia burns, as it has always done, but now so much more fiercely.

In February 2009, wildfires burnt through entire communities, taking 173 lives and injuring hundreds, while destroying thousands of houses and other buildings. Up to 400 fires destroyed 450,000 hectares of forest, native fauna and habitat, livestock and farmland.

In the aftermath of the fires, the voices of people who had lived through the experience — victims, rescuers, and observers — were spoken and were heard.

Devil In The Wind is Frank Prem’s poetic anthology of the personal, and very human, accounts of those who themselves experienced and survived Black Saturday. Poetry writing that interacts directly with readers emotions.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Frank Prem
• Release date: Jul 2, 2021
• ISBN: 9780975144275

Frank Prem

Frank Prem has been a storytelling poet for forty years. When not writing or reading his poetry to an audience, he fills his time by working as a psychiatric nurse.He has been published in magazines, e-zines and anthologies, in Australia and in a number of other countries, and has both performed and recorded his work as ‘spoken word’.Frank has published several collections of free verse poetry – Small Town Kid (2018), Devil In The Wind (2019), and The New Asylum (2019). and A Love Poetry Trilogy (Walk Away Silver Heart; A Kiss for the Worthy; and Rescue and Redemption) in 2020, as well as a two part picture book – A Beechworth Bakery Bears e-Book and A Beechworth Bakery Bears e-Book (too).He and his wife live in the beautiful township of Beechworth in northeast Victoria (Australia).

Book preview

Prologue

1

oh my darling

the devil is in the wind

crying

roaring

swallowing sound

with every tongue

that licks to taste

the grass and trees

.

.

.

well

we could really only watch

it came down the hill

on both sides

and from behind us

four ways at once

2

it speaks

to you

it speaks to you

in tongues

my darling

.

.

the embers

were like an uzi

firing through every crack

doors

windows

skylights in the ceiling

if you were putting them out

at the top of the door

they swarmed in at the bottom

it was like a live thing

3

darling

my darling

there is sorrow on this ground

the devil’s kiss

is a thirst

that cannot be quenched

.

.

.

.

look

I’m telling you my truck didn’t burn

it melted

it just

bloody well melted

4

and the taste in your mouth

is the ash

and foul

of a love affair

to the death

.

.

.

I couldn’t breathe

I just couldn’t breathe

we both had damp cloths

over our mouths

but I just

couldn’t breathe

even now

I’m coughing up black

5

oh my darling

the world is different

so very different now

from when it first began

.

.

.

if we stayed in the house

another thirty seconds

we were dead

if we got in the car to drive away

we were dead

we could only back the sedan

onto blackened ground

sit in it

and watch our home burn down

it took just a few seconds

6

darling

this

is the devil’s

stamping ground

.

.

.

.

my animals

I need to go back in to save my animals

are you going to stop me

from going to them

they need me

are you trying to make me lose EVERYTHING

LET ME GO THROUGH

7

this

is where he sings

of desecration

.

.

.

.

.

it’s turned into a moonscape

in the space of three hours

it’s going to take

oh

probably a couple of generations

for it to grow back

8

his sickling ground

to corrupt

with gouts of loathing

.

.

.

.

.

somebody lit it

on purpose

what do you do with someone like that

what on earth

do you do

9

come away with me

my darling

come away

there is fire

in the red sun’s eye

.

.

.

.

.

I’m not sure if this place

our home

for over twenty-five years

can ever feel the same for us

10

there is nothing left

where the devil-wind

has blown

.

.

.

.

my heart breaks

to say it

but I think

we’ve had enough

of living

in the wonderful

australian

Reviews for Devil In The Wind

[croknot1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I enjoy good poetry and this is some of the best. One can feel the pain and loss. Heartwrenching. I received it from LT and the author for my honest review.

[railheater · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Devil in the Wind: Voices from the 2009 Black Saturday Bush Fires, is not to be missed. Prem's choice of poetic delivery reminded me of a children's picture book I'd once read that had done the same thing. I'd loved it, and I was curious to see if Devil in the Wind could stay with me, too.The prologue quickly brought me into the victims' and survivors' thoughts and feelings, and I couldn't help but relate the author's swift speed in this to how fast a fire spreads. And, the way the words themselves were organized on the paper visually captured the essence of fire burning for me. It was this surprisingly intense moment once I saw the words "aflame." The realization brought me that much closer to the terrible level of magnified fear, that tug-of-war struggle within about what you want to do versus what you should, and that overwhelming feeling of heartache that was felt like waves in the water. There was no putting Devil in the Wind down after that introduction, and I was not disappointed in a single line afterwards.This is my honest review of a book won in a giveaway.