Fiber, fiber, turning white
In our ceilings, out of sight,
How we wish you wouldn't be
Full of such toxicity.
Though you guard us from the fire,
Something all of us admire,
If your fibers loosen, death
Enters us in every breath.
Would the building's builders knew
Of the toxins hid in you!
But they didn't know, and so
Their precaution brought us woe.
Fiber, fiber, in the wall,
Are you there, or not at all?
Safety people! Test to see!
Cure our sad uncertainty!
If it's absent, then the status
Of our breathing apparatus
Probably is safe: if not,
Silicosis is our lot.
If it's taken out, we'll breathe
Easier for the reprieve:
If it's not, we'll feel fear
Every time we enter here.
Fiber, fiber, turning white,
Leave our lungs alone tonight.
Failing such, we shall your toll
Face asbestos possible.
Originally published in SUL News Notes, November 5, 1993.
c 1993, 1995 Fleabonnet Press for the author.