The store alarm was sounding
From an empty building in town.
 
And when the sound kept wailing
The whole system was shut down.
 
See, several shops had silent alarms
Wired to one master box on a wall.
 
That box had lights for each alarm;
But one on/off switch — and that’s all!
 
The wall is in the sheriff’s office,
Above the emergency phone.
 
The old man on duty to dispatch,
Was a bit old and he was alone.
 
When the alarm went off at eight p.m.,
The control box was turned off, too.
 
An hour later the alarm would still wail –
So what does the dispatcher do?
 
That’s right! The system’s left off.
Until midnight shift change.
 
Then the relieving dispatcher is on the air,
His voice sounds very strange.
 
“The alarm to that store is not that store”
For a moment no more is said.
 
“The alarm is not for the store as we thought,
It’s the one to the bank instead.”

Copyright©2009 Dan Wright