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2 am
and silence is shattered
another victim races
along a long,
         lonely road
toward help

the blare of the horn
         announces
arrival of those valiant
saviors of the city

slamming through doors
antiseptic stench
         assaults
frazzled concentration
of the weary healers

pin pricks of fear as
the heart slows down
now desperate to win
against time's
         passage

day in — day out
this fevered pace
rushes along
without slowing

try as they might
sometimes they fail
         as a life is lost
                   a family grieves

84 words
28 lines
Free Verse.