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
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
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
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
Leaf I was that day as curious
As the winds roaring malign so furious
A better life awaits, all glorious
Deprived me of my senses, how spurious
Shuddering, my eyes sparked fire
As my feet choked in the deep mire
The haze got clearer
My life got dearer
The courage that I acquired
I began to retire
What was I?
A cavern to fear Death
Or a gallant to crave new breath
Categories:
close call, courage, death, suicide,
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
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
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
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
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
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
I was working on a high rise 19 stories high.
I broke a major safety rule which almost caused me to die.
I was walking backward laying out steel getting closer to the edge.
I walked back one step too many and fell off of the ledge.
Fortunately for me there was a safety net installed one story below
designed to catch light debris protecting pedestrians and motorists below.
Lucky for me I'm a bit of a light weight
otherwise I would have plunged through that net, death being my fate.
To this very day since that event nightmares continue to haunt me.
Do you think I should seek out some sort of therapy?
Categories:
close call, me, light, light, me,
Form: Rhyme
I'm running, panting.
I feel hot breath on my neck.
I turn, nothing there!
Categories:
close call, adventure, mystery
Form: Senryu
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