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 Flames by Billy Collins 
						Smokey the Bear headsinto the autumn woods
 with a red can of gasoline
 and a box of wooden matches.
 
 His ranger's hat is cocked
 at a disturbing angle.
 
 His brown fur gleams
 under the high sun
 as his paws, the size
 of catcher's mitts,
 crackle into the distance.
 
 He is sick of dispensing
 warnings to the careless,
 the half-wit camper,
 the dumbbell hiker.
 
 He is going to show them
 how a professional does it.
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