Home » Poems » Frederic Parker » And Then It Stopped

And Then It Stopped

A dark night, no stars, no moon,
light rain
the rumble of distant thunder
a gunshot, close
the sound of feet,   running
loud voices,    screaming
a car door slamming shut
tires skidding
another gunshot
a pause,
footsteps on the porch
doorknob turning
a rattle of the door
deadbolt holding
police siren, closing fast
footsteps moving 
and then it stopped
distant thunder, light rain
no stars, no moon

6/2/17

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John Hamilton

Date: 7/9/2017 12:53:00 PM

Congrats Frederick on a suspense filled write very worthy winner on a very hard contest to judge so many good entries on this one, nice to see yours at the finish line!

Daniel Turner

Date: 7/9/2017 6:37:00 AM

Back to say congratulations Frederic. It was a hard contest to judge. A lot of great poems, including this one:)

Craig Cornish

Date: 7/8/2017 12:45:00 PM

Love the way this is constructed and the throbbing mystery of ot

Heidi Sands

Date: 7/8/2017 9:06:00 AM

Congratulations Frederic :)

Lin Lane

Date: 7/8/2017 8:47:00 AM

I loved this one the first time I read it. Congrats, Frederic.

Janice Canerdy

Date: 7/8/2017 8:03:00 AM

Frederic, you have concisely and poetically summarized so many of the stories I hear on the news. Congrats on your win! Janice

John Lawless

Date: 7/8/2017 8:02:00 AM

...Just another night in the city....Great job Frederic. I especially like the repetition of the phrases in the final couplet.....offering the illusion that all had returned to normal

Joanna Daniel

Date: 7/4/2017 9:52:00 AM

Perfect poem for the contest, Frederic, makes one wonder what took place!!

Heidi Sands

Date: 7/3/2017 5:57:00 PM

Wow Frederic. This was very suspenseful! Well done!!

Suzanne Delaney

Date: 7/3/2017 11:59:00 AM

Nothing more final than life stopping and you magnified it by stopping nature. Good Luck in the contest. SuZ

Elizabeth Kinch

Date: 7/3/2017 3:40:00 AM

Deep brutality Frederic. Good luck in the contest with this intriguing write.

Daniel Turner

Date: 7/2/2017 11:09:00 PM

Intense, is what it was for me. Building and building, perfect for the contest, Frederic:)

Lin Lane

Date: 7/2/2017 6:46:00 PM

Sitting on the edge of my chair, waiting to find out the who, what, and why...and then you stopped. Good building of excitement, Frederic.

Andrea Dietrich

Date: 7/2/2017 5:42:00 PM

hey, I really like the way your poem just stopped too. It really "showed" the mood of the piece. Great job, Frederic. yeah, I often do the sad love poems. I was always crushing on the guys who did not like me back!