A Hot Summer's Day

• Olivia Rumble, Grade 6, Greenhills Primary School
• Poetry
• 2016

Excellence Award in the 'Top Secret 2016' competition

Ah… a nice summer day at this palm tree filled beach. Some people are playing volleyball, some are playing in the waves with their kids. All I can see are waves crashing with a light delicate sound. But the smell, the smell isn’t right. It smells dark, stormy, like a black texta that writes white, it’s not right is it!!!!
I look to the sky, black and grey smoke fills the air, like a swarm of bees, I look back at the beach, people scamper everywhere I look. I don’t even know why they are running, tuning on the radio I listen. “Breaking news!!! A huge volcano in Hawaii has just been discovered and is erupting any day now, so I would not go to Hawaii, they are making boats for you to get out of there!”
Everyone picks up their stuff and runs as fast as they could to a boat but you should have seen the line it was longer than the Great Wall of China. All of a sudden the ground shook. Hot shots of lava spew up in the air. We had to get out of here!!!
All I see is people running in fear from the burning, blazing and hot lava. I hear people screaming and their footsteps sound like angry giants. I smell burning everywhere. I taste the disgusting taste of ash and sand. I feel sweltering sand against my feet.
Everyone clampers on to the boats as the lava come closer the sand starts burning the sand, you can see the damage everywhere and the houses are just ruins, so are the hotels. The lines are too long, I don’t think we will be able to get on, they need to be quick!
The lava comes closer as more people get on the boats, but we are still so far away from the front. I don’t know if we can get out of here. The lava is now up to the water, the pier is the only thing protecting us. Lava is rushing towards us. The air is just smoke, you can hardly breathe. The line is short but we are just about inside. It’s getting closer. We are relived we are inside and safe, even though it is squishy, we are safe.