Best Close Call Poems
Their day at the beach was much hotter
than usual. Soon Gramps would totter
right down to the ocean.
We warned him his notion
was bad. We’d seen sharks in the water.
Alone, he was happily splashing,
but soon, barely clothed, he was dashing
to shore. He was screaming,
though no blood was streaming.
Just shorts, the big creature was gnashing.
7, red (garnet, birth stone)
August 1, 2018, entered in Carolyn Devonshire's Sea Tales
Limericks Contest
Categories:
close call, beach, sea, summer,
Form:
Limerick
Death whispered my name today,
a soft seductive coo in my ear.
Proceeding onward to invade my very soul;
And over my body,
I felt the creeping cold take hold.
I closed my eyes to join the dance,
the romance of the dead;
Leading me from what I used to be,
into where I'll spend eternity,
where waltzes will never end for me.
So Free.
The shout of loved ones slingshots me back.
Lying in a cold sweat,
awake and screaming,
perhaps I was just dreaming.
Perhaps if it were more than a whisper,
I would have answered deaths call,
after all.
Categories:
close call, death, me,
Form:
Free verse
God wasn't ready for me to join him. . .
any more than I was ready to make the journey.
Categories:
close call, spiritual,
Form:
Light Verse
Constant jeopardy is something we must accept.
An asteroid whizzed by on a near-intercept.
Two million miles is not a distance that is far.
It was a reminder of how vulnerable we are.
The close call happened to be just last night.
Many around the world are startled with fright.
There are plenty of big rocks floating around in space.
If one hits us, it may end the human race.
We are not old enough to remember the fate of the dinosaur.
Those big reptiles roamed the planet in numbers galore.
Something happened, and they are not around anymore.
To insure the survival of the species called “man”,
don’t you think it’s a good idea to have a contingency plan?
From a news story found on aol.com
Categories:
close call, earth, life, space, planet,
Form:
Rhyme
CLOSE CALL IN IRELAND
I once had an affaire de coeur with a foxylady, in fact a randy colleen
In Ireland with a tough older brother looking to punch me out.
But I cold cocked the rambunctious hooligan,
A real old blowhard who knew diddly squat about fighting.
Oh yeah, he had some mickey mouse gizmo like a nunchaku
But he was a shilly shallying, vacillating sort of bloke,
A tightwad nitpicker full of quintessential balderdash
(To put it politely),
And I just lambasted his ass. But, you know, with hindsight
He did almost usurp my dubious position with his sister.
Actually I rather think he was an incest-freak,
A what-you-might-call weirdo trying to insert himself sneakily
Into her good books, (and maybe also my gay books).
In formal language he was an aged interstitial gender-bender .
This stupid old codger tried to seduce me as well as her.
I didn’t acquiesce, didn’t dilly-dally hither and yon,
Like some ethereal dancer doing a glissade.
In the midst of an abso-bloody-lutely horrendous
Wingding of a drunken celebration
The pinch penny tried to titillate me
With his whole second-hand collection of pictures,
A great caboodle of ***********:
And that easy rider fuzzled me later in a jimjam party
And almost brought me out of the closet.
He was some Tallulah, let me tell you. . . . wow!
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
NOTE
Almost the entire poem should be highlighted for
it contains every word on the given list
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Entered in Debbie Guzzi’s Contest For Love of Language
Categories:
close call, funny, me, old, me,
Form:
Free verse
William Tell 'tis said
Split an apple on son's head
Son nearly dropped dead
Robert L. Hinshaw, CMSgt, USAF, Retired
© All Rights Reserved
Placed No. 9 in Carol Brown's "Apples? Oranges?" Contest - May 2011
Categories:
close call, funny
Form:
Senryu
It seems she hangs in the air
I brake - I see her eye - her form
A deer in perfect freeze frame
She’s gone as abruptly
as she appeared
from nowhere.
Bite Size Poem no. 5 Poetry Contest
Line Gauthier
Written June 3rd 2021
Categories:
close call, fate, nature,
Form:
Free verse
I'm running, panting.
I feel hot breath on my neck.
I turn, nothing there!
Categories:
close call, adventure, mystery
Form:
Senryu
Sitting in the basement
Two friends were fairly wasted
With an idea, both of them could taste it
So they decided they would make it
They tried to pull up the internet
With a computer not even turned on yet
So they smoked another doobie and
Came up with a master plan
When the internet finally did come on
They Googled how to make an "H" bomb
They giggled like silly teenage girls
Cause the knew they'd be rulers of their world
They wish they'd studied more in school
This "H" bomb language wasn't written for simple fools
So they called up someone smart they knew
They called Bob
Well Bob was just right down the street
Always there to help a friend in need
Even came with his own bag of weed
Bob is a good friend indeed
After an hour or so they tried to explain
What they needed from good ole what's his name
But couldn't remember why it was he even came
I guess weed just made the world a safer place
Disclaimer....
I neither condone the use of stimulants
nor the making of homemade nuclear weapons.
Categories:
close call, funny, humor,
Form:
Free verse
As I read todays Sunday paper,
it brought back a lot of heartache,
it'll be 5 years this coming Wednesday,
when there was a terrible outbreak..
I remember when I was little,
and for the first time saw
The Wizard of Oz,
thought the twister in it looked so real,
thinking Dorothy really did
go through a horrible ordeal...
Fast forward to 2011,
when my husband was
at work up in Spring City,
and my oldest son and I,
worked in the same industrial park,
just for different companies...
meantime my youngest son was
home alone holding down the fort...
It was sometime in the afternoon,
when my oldest son Paul
came to see me at work,
saying "Mom, I think I'm gonna
head home, and you should probably
come too! There's a bad storm
coming, and it'll be here soon!"
I said "Son I'm going to stay here
at work, because this county is
not on any high alert."
Found out later a tornado did
touch down, on the other side
of our county, killing around
10 people, leaving a path of
wide destruction...
Now if I ever hear of another
tornado outbreak in northern
Alabama, we will be home
in our cellar all huddled...
and praying together.
Addendum: All told, there were 55 tornados that touched down
in the whole state on April 27, 2011 resulting in 238 deaths.
Categories:
close call, fear, memory, natural disasters,
Form:
Light Verse
My wife and I enter a restaurant across the street from the airport, our kids in tow. There is quite a crowd with little room to maneuver. Our name goes on the waitlist. Ugh.
Carol and I are taking turns holding our 2-month-old son while the other holds the hand of our 3-year-old. As I take the baby my wife realizes Daniel isn’t there. She frantically scans the area and sees an older man leading Daniel by the hand toward the exit. Quick to respond, Carol runs toward them, repeatedly shouting, “Daniel, stop!” Daniel turns and the man releases his hand and exits as my wife scoops Daniel into her arms. I am a beat behind. We experience a flood of emotions.
They call out our name. Our table is ready.
Categories:
close call, child, children, family, fear,
Form:
Prose Poetry
Call me anytime, anytime you aren't busy
You can call me when you get around to it
I tell you every day, yet never hear anything
Never get a call return, because you are busy
Didn't get a call the last time I tried to stop breathing
But I thought of you, and couldn't do it
Call me any day, I will be waiting
How long though can one wait
Maybe it could be too late
The next time I am hanging, it won't be up on me
Cause I'll be dangling, from the phone cord, dangling my feet
Could you call me, something other than useless
Can you tell me I'm not truly hopeless
If you call me tomorrow, would it be too late
Or as the phone rings, will I be strangling
Will I make it to the receiver, to get to hear your voice
Am I struggling alone, or is it just in my head
Will I get a chance to hear the phone
Or will you just hear the dial tone, because my ears are ringing
The blood rushing to my head is just as real as the teardrops down my face
If I am not able to receive your call, it's because my mind was busy
And stopped suddenly because I had ended my suffering
You left my hanging by a thread, and now i am dead
Miraculously I see the light, I awaken to a ringing
I see my opened window, and hear birds singing
And I am sure glad hear your voice again
Categories:
close call, absence, brother, depression, family,
Form:
Dramatic Monologue
You are a spoiled child.
Your puppet lost the election.
Like an angry child you strike.
If Trump won the election,
America would be yours.
I thank God everyday we
have elections so your dream
died before it became reality.
Categories:
close call, political,
Form:
Free verse
Canoeing in shallow waters
Sunny calm and heavenly
Till ever so suddenly came a squall
That’s what they call crazy storms
That come out of nowhere
Without warning
I really thought it was all over for me
Thought I’d be meeting my maker
Somehow panic gave way
To a cool level head
A rational inner voice echoing
Paddle as strong as you can
Strong and steady
Amazingly we did reach the shore
Too exhausted to be euphoric
Feeling taller
Feeling superhuman
Jubilant but in an inner quiet way
Feeling very humble
Afraid to ask
The source of this
Sudden wild rebellious rage
Willing to crush anyone in its way
On a day I was never so close to my death
AP: Honorable Mention 2020
Submitted on September 2, 2017 for contest EARLY SEPTEMBER PREMIERE sponsored by BRIAN STRAND
Categories:
close call, adventure, boat, fear, storm,
Form:
Free verse
Cop a feel
Cop a lie
Copulate
She's fourteen; Pop's a cop
What to do?
Cop an alibi!
Copasetic
Categories:
close call, angst, funny, girlfriend-boyfriend,
Form:
Free verse