Given little advance warning
November chill sneaks up on us
We brace ourselves for winter
Wordku: 5-7-5 words
AP: Honorable Mention 2025
Now let me see what's on my mind
Is it still clicking along
Will I get any kind of advance warning
When I won't be singing life's song
The lyrics will all seem foreign to me
Start hitting some real sour notes
Should I write down my name just in case
I go out in the winter with no coat
Sure can't imagine ending life this way
After such a productive run
But I must be ready for any eventuality
In case I fall down on my bum
My mind wanders back to all those years
Was sharp as the proverbial tack
Riding the wave of a productive good life
Till age kinda changed all that
Well thankfully that's all still in the future
Best take each new day as it comes
Till that day when my sun no longer shines
Gonna keep on beating life's drum
In a show of manic one-upmanship
With my wife saying, “Just get a grip.”
I planned an adventure to show I’m well travelled
The spoiler to that is the whole thing unravelled
I looked at the brochures and boy was I keen
Determined to find somewhere Tom hadn’t been
That man is a nomad, he never sits still
He just grabs a suitcase and travels at will
[At this point please lend me a bit of your time
for this advance warning of appalling rhyme]
My legs are so white that I ought to be sunning ’em
I’ll find somewhere warm that’s eluded Tom Cunningham
I made a quick sandwich with pickle from Branston
And then thought EUREKA…I’ll call Richard Branson
I sold a few organs and Gran’s silver spoon
And raised enough money to fly to the moon
He said he does orbits then back down to earth
A trip to the moon was more grief than it’s worth
I grabbed Branson’s beard and said “Listen to me,
you’re gonna help me outdo Mr C.”
Well, long story short, I arrived on old Luna
Tom might have planned it but I got there sooner
Then a little green man said, “Is Earth where you’re from?
When you get back home again… say ‘Hi’ to Tom.”
Now let me see, what's on my mind
Is it still clicking along
Will I get any kind of advance warning
When I won't be singing life's song
The lyrics will all seem foreign to me
Start hitting some real sour notes
Should I write down my name just in case
I go out in the winter with no coat
Sure can't imagine ending life this way
After such a productive run
But I must be ready for any eventuality
In case I fall down on my bum
My mind wanders back to all those years
Was sharp as the proverbial tack
Riding the wave of a productive good life
Till age kinda changed all that
Well thankfully that's all still in the future
Best take each new day as it comes
Till that day when my sun no longer shines
Gonna keep on beating life's drum
Now let me see, what's on my mind
Is it still clicking along
Will I get any kind of advance warning
When I won't be singing life's song
The lyrics will all seem foreign to me
Start hitting some real sour notes
Should I write down my name just in case
I go out in the winter with no coat
Sure can't imagine ending life this way
After such a productive run
But I must be ready for any eventuality
In case I fall down on my bum
My mind wanders back to all those years
Was sharp as the proverbial tack
Riding the wave of a productive good life
Till age kinda changed all that
Well thankfully that's all still in the future
Best take each new day as it comes
Till that day when my sun no longer shines
Gonna keep on beating life's drum
© Jack Ellison 2015
The ghostly sky hangs over the bay
Purple, ominous and looming black
Seagulls screech their advance warning
Of the foreboding storm approaching.
Through the endless rush of water
Swelling, surging and wildly panoramic
The passage of time flows powerlessly.
A rainbow glares from the November sky
At one with winter's warning sounds.
Small fishing boats cradled by the pier
Rock and sway, frail and threatened
The darkened ocean has caved in
And is now under siege.
Seagulls flap their wings in rhythm
Seeking out the giant cliff's shelter
While frothing waves, great replicas
Of an eternity of lifetimes -
Roll and struggle to their destination.
Through blackened skies covering the bay
A myriad of orange light shoots momentarily
Dimming - fading and then dispersing.
Nature is trust into chaos
Thundering and spraying the pier wall.
As the winds howl and the waves lash
The fury of the night has just begun.
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