Best Curveball Poems
Good Sense Of Humour Blunts The Sharp Blades Of Reality Poetry
Contest //Sponsored by: Natasha L. Scragg
Contest Judged: 8/30/2025 4:27:00 AM
( 2nd Place )
Written: August 5, 2025
When life threw me a curveball,
I stumbled—then chuckled mid-fall.
Lumped knees, not pride, I wore like bent,
because sneering is something I've seen.
In chemo rooms and vestibules,
I frenzied dry jokes on aseptic walls.
Doctors simpered, nurses would beam—
a punch-line where the fear had been.
When agony thumped hard and sleep grew thin,
I let the silly light writhe in.
A meme, a whirl , a silly song—
made aching days feel less so long.
No, humour incurable or patch,
But it's the ally, not made to part.
It doesn't silence, hurt or truth,
but let me smirk with my aching tooth.
So here's my laugh, though life gushes beneath,
it's how I rise, not how I lament!
Through the schoolyard running as shadows grow long
and the late day sun feeling warm and strong
I'm loving this vision that I am seeing
of children at play and as one in being
They illustrate just how life ought to flow
with effortless laughter and faces aglow
One day they shall look back at these very times
and perhaps write them down while grasping for rhymes
I think I'm in need of someone to say
that in spite all of this everything is okay
But I feel like I'm trapped in some miserable cult
which summarizes perfectly being an adult
We've lost something, each of us, since we were small
If life were a pitcher, it threw us a curveball
As I watch all these children, so happy and free
in joyful oblivion to the world I see
It's clear now that it was too bitter a cup
to drink for the sake of being grownup
I traded my childhood for what I've become
the cruel reality has stricken me dumb
I never saw coming my innocence lost
Never knew of a line I unwittingly crossed
No refunds are given, no way to return
this one-way transaction continues to burn
If I could have seen a sign or a door
or a clear way to know what I was in for
Behind is where I would have chosen to stay
And right now I'd be one of these children at play
BASEBALL IS ENTERTAINMENT
I LOVE PUTTING ON A SHOW
I GIVE IT MY BEST WIND-UP
LET THAT BASEBALL GO
SOMETHING ABOUT A STRIKE-OUT
A FEELING THAT THINGS WENT WELL
UNLIKE THE HOMERUN PITCH
WHERE IT FEELS THEY RANG MY BELL
I CONSIDER IT A CHALLENGE
TO FACE THE BIGGEST NAMES IN THE GAME
I BUILT THAT REPUTATION
I HOPE THEY FEEL THE SAME
I KNOW I GET A LITTLE WILD
BUT, I'VE BEEN WORKING ON CONTROL
NO INTENTION TO BREAK AN ARM
JUST TO LET YOU KNOW
IT'S LIKE ONE ON ONE
SHOW ME WHAT YOU GOT
BUT IF YOU TRY TO BUNT ON ME
I'LL NAIL YOU ON THE SPOT
YES I HAVE A FASTBALL
NINETY-FIVE AND UP
I KNOW YOU KNOW IT'S COMING
SO GIVE IT YOUR BEST CUT
I'VE BEEN WORKING ON MY CURVEBALL
IT MIGHT JUST BACK YOU DOWN
CONSIDER IT A CHALLENGE
TRY TAKE THAT PITCH DOWN TOWN
I LOVE MY JOB OUT ON THE MOUND
I LOVE THE GAME OF BASEBALL
I LOVE WHEN THE BATTER AT THE PLATE
CAN'T HIT MY BLAZING FASTBALL
I LOVE THE PLAYERS ON MY TEAM
WHO LOVE THE GAME OF BASEBALL
IT'S A THRILL WHEN BATTERS TAKE MY CHALLENGE
AND CAN'T STICK MY NASTY CURVEBALL
THEY SAY YOU ARE THE K-KING
I DON'T BELIEVE A WORD
SOMEONE SAID YOUR FASTBALL
WAS THE BEST HE EVER HEARD
THEY SAY YOU HAVE A FASTBALL
THE FASTEST OF THEM ALL
SHOW ME YOUR BEST FASTBALL
I'LL DRIVE IT OFF THE WALL
THEY SAY YOU HAVE A NASTY CURVE
ENOUGH TO BACK'EM DOWN
SHOW ME YOUR BEST NASTY CURVE
I'LL TAKE THAT PITCH DOWN-TOWN
THEY SAY YOU HAVE A CHANGE-UP
THAT LEAVES THEM WAY OUT FRONT
SHOW ME YOUR BEST CHANGE-UP
I'LL TEACH YOU HOW TO BUNT
THEN I STEPPED UP TO THE PLATE
I HEARD THE UMP CALL STRIKE
I DUG IN JUST A LITTLE MORE
THAT CURVEBALL TOOK A BITE
I WAITED ON THAT CHANGE-UP
YET SURE ENOUGH THEY'RE RIGHT
I TURNED AROUND TO FACE THE UMP
HE JUST SMILED AND SAID GOOD NITE
I BELIEVE YOU ARE THE K-KING
YOU'RE THE BEST I'VE EVER SEEN
YOU DESERVE TO BE BASEBALL'S
ALL-TIME STRIKE OUT KING
Michael E. Harris
Reality slams you hard in the gut.
You move to the left when you should have gone to the right.
The red light suddenly appears and you can't stop.
You are up to your eyeballs in the red.
You are not only broke but you are also sleepless.
Life throws you a curveball on a daily basis.
The shocks cause your system to overload.
Too much data and damage and the processor breaks down.
Screaming in need of repair, you fall limp to the ground.
You write a want ad that reads help for beaten, busted, and bankrupted body and soul.
Seeking solace in the arms of a stranger seems like a sound solution.
As you wait by the phone, the only thing you sense is a novel nothingness.
When life throws you a curveball, swing for the fences... it's the only way to live!
12/04/2015
For "One liners" contest sponsored by Silent One.
LIFE’S CURVEBALLS
A past time of getting hit by a curveball, would send me off my trolley
Now I see it, catch it, as return it to sender, with one all mighty volley
Indiana Shaw . . . ; )
Feeling inadequate
Succumbing to expensive habits,
My intentions are immaculate
But my love switches gear
like a driver cycling through standard shifts,
I am with doubt
That I will be able to solve this *****,
I’ve thoroughly searched through endless pages of consultation
Coming up empty
Praying, that help is on its way
before my soul drifts
and the world would then lose another precious gift,
I would have loved to possess a more meaningful kiss,
This was, after all - my timeless wish.
Whether it be friendship or sinking another’s battleship
Engaging in heterosexual relations
Or just working out some family biz,
My energy is fizzing out in establishing what a good person is,
I feel polluted like sabotaged waters and its many infected fish,
A batter who anticipated a curveball but still swung and missed,
My mind is thicker than any mist
I have unapologetically forgotten my roots
Dementiating where I came from,
and what a good person is.
He ran the world and when he thought of stopping,
the race track played another trick on him.
His wild hair halo 'round a face, with beads
of fine salt tickle, tease. They run down his neck.
Then, as evening entered on the blood orange
gravel, and nebula witches whirled upon the
green grass, he stopped and stayed and stared.
Alone there, he dropped the manly guise,
his gait a slow lush grace with careful steps.
His arms gracefully wrapped around the one,
that during daytime, always will be known as he,
but night throws softer curveballs at her.
A shy butterfly, stepped out of a soft cocoon,
ready to step back into a life of caterpillar.
***
January 17, 2017
angels sweeping out flakes
lackadaisically
successive shift:
fast and furious
angels on break
storehouse still
to be emptied
funniest sight?
a full-size snowman
drops from the clouds
foreman’s mad
he smiles though
at the cheeriest
curveball snow
angel’s never angry more
than a millisecond
heaven’s work a joy
yesterday, today and forever
Nov 2022
Came from Baltimore by Pigtown
Where they like to lay the law down.
He rebelled against the ground rule.
Had to grow up in reform school.
Got acquainted with a curveball
Dealing pepper by the church hall;
Broke some windows, but he left the scouts impressed.
He was an OG All Star, and a first draft Hall of Famer.
He had manners like a gomer, but he played with no disclaimer.
Pitched in Beantown, till they tossed him.
They’d regret they ever lost him.
Joined the Yankees as a slugger.
Jumped on southpaws like a mugger,
Shooting rockets past the flagpole.
Fattest wallet on the payroll.
Made a called shot, and the papers did the rest.
He went from zero to sixty lodged in Murderers’ Row,
With women, booze, and money all just part of the show.
He led the A.L. in hitting.
Chased after ta-il, no quitting.
Played ring around the bases
In a dozen pennant races.
He scored doubles at the wet bar.
Belted homers before radar,
And suffered his publicity’s intrigues.
He was an urban legend; no one ever saw him on TV.
And in the house that he built, there’s a tribute to his number three.
It was series after series.
All the bookies have their theories,
Parsing records and statistics,
Charting sinker ball ballistics,
But in the end, most everyone agrees:
He never had to play the N*gro Leagues.
Playing football earned me a concussion
Basketball tore the cartilage in my knee
Running cross-country sprained me my ankle
While boxing knocked the sense out of me
Throwing a curveball ruined my elbow
Swimming lap after lap did 'fix' my shoulder
My erratic golf swing left my back in a knot
And I've arthritis everywhere, now I've grown older
Lockdown
Isolation
Social distancing
All words we would never have thought of when we started 2020
Yet here we are
Inadvertently forced to remain in our homes
Not everyone is handling this very well
In fact many are struggling
Yet in order to see another day, another month or year
This is our current situation
Life has thrown the world a curveball
- there is no throwing it back
We have to work through this
We have pray through this
We have to hope through this
We have to get that mustard seed of faith and cling through this
Cause no matter how rich or poor you are
There is no way you are immune
The playing field has been levelled
Let's not forget as long as we are alive
We can still make a difference
Even if that difference means having to stay at home
©wilmaneels
©13042020
Thank you for celebrating the warrior in me
And for being my shield in times of need
Offering those shoulders to nurse in chivalry
My battle-wearied heart when it doth bleed
Thank you for celebrating my laughter
And for giving me more reasons to smile
Offering to laugh heartily with me hereafter
My leaden soul could do to soar awhile
Thank you for being you, imperfections and all
And for making me more perfect with time
Offering to grow together amidst life's curveball
My overthinking mind could saunter in rhyme
Thank you for being part of my journey here
And for taking me on a roadtrip like no other
Offering your hand when I stumble to safely steer
My comrade you do pacify when life's pain I wonder
Dear comrade, wishing you a big, heartfelt thank you for being my heart mind and soul!
LORD I CALL UPON YOU TO BE MY GUIDE TO BE MY DIRECTION TO BE MY STRENGTH.
I CANNOT DO THIS ALONE FOR I AM WEAK WITHOUT YOU.
ASKING THAT YOU WALK WITH ME ON THIS JOURNEY CALLED LIFE.
FOR I KNOW NOT WHAT I AM DOING I TRIED TO DO IT BY MYSELF AND I FAILED.
I HAVE NOT LOOKED TO YOU FOR THE GUIDANCE THAT I NEEDED.
HELP ME TO BE A BETTER WOMAN THAN I WAS YESTERDAY.
HELP ME TO BE THE WOMAN YOU HAVE CALLED ME TO BE.
ERASE FEAR, DOUBT AND ANXIETY FROM MY HEART.
GIVE ME THE WORDS TO SAY WHEN I DON'T HAVE THEM.
BRING PEACE INTO MY HEART AND INTO MY SPIRIT.
WHEN LIFE THROWS A CURVEBALL AT ME GIVE ME THE STRENGTH THAT I NEED TO HANDLE IT.
FOR MY LIFE IS NOTHING WITHOUT YOU AND NEVER WILL BE.
CLEANSE ME FROM ALL THE TOXIC THOUGHTS THAT RUN THROUGH MY MIND.
CREATE IN ME COURAGE AND STRENGTH WHEN I FEEL THAT I CANNOT GO ON.
BLOW A BREATH OF FIRE WITHIN MY SOUL TO KEEP FIGHTING WHEN IT DOESN'T SEEM LIKE THERE IS NO HOPE.
LORD I THANK YOU FOR WHAT YOU HAVE ALREADY DONE FOR ME.
THE GOOD THE BAD AND THE UGLY I THANK YOU!
IN JESUS NAME THAT I PRAY AMEN