Yellow Warning

They painted it today, that lump of iron,

yellow, so bright it hurt the eye.

Right there on the corner, where the dogs try

to leave their mark, a brand new sheen.

All the grit gone, all the grime.

Just this clean, loud, insistent yellow,

screaming its readiness. A single drip

clung to the nozzle, a tear it couldn't shed.

It sits there, solid, on the street,

a promise hidden, bittersweet.

It waits for fire, for a rush of might,

a beacon in the coming night.