An Almost Miss

An Almost Miss

Gripping our raft, 
with rope burns, 
blistering hands,
under a blinding, 
searing sun.

We float along
a churning river,
while Father Time 
draws a constant line
and weaves our years 
like a blanket on a loom.

Bathed in sweat,
we keep our wits afloat,
sliding, twisting, 
maneuvering torrents, 
in full command 
of our vessel 
paddling the Colorado River
or perhaps the Rio Grande.
No, the Mighty Mississippi.


We avoid jagged edges,
the terrors, the upsets, 
lest our raft gets ripped
and we drift, 
caught in the current 
of the harrowing unknown.

Our only concern,
fear of the rocks
torturous shards
the sharp piercing, 
we venture to avoid.

Fear of the depths
if we capsize 
yanked drowning 
in a furious maelstrom. 

At what cost?
An almost miss! 
The wondrous views,
a wild kingdom, 
guaranteed gone 
if we don’t look.

An almost miss! 
Majestic, 
four-legged creatures 
basking in midday rays,
or magical hues 
born when sunlight 
makes love to the rain.
We’re caught in small
winding waterways. 

Our eyes lift up 
only to a point, 
cloudy,
with a chance 
of redemption 
if we’re aware.





Consider

An almost miss!
A woman came to know 
her best friend in life. 
her son. A baby boy 
born out of her womb. 
An almost miss, 
without her change of heart.

Consider

An almost miss! 
A man who may have 
never had a second son, 
another twinkle, 
another apple of his eye, 
from a cheating wife
were it not for his forgiveness. 

Consider

An almost miss!
A love explored
between two lost hearts,
sharing more than a kiss, 
an explosion of tenderness 
and peace that asks
nothing in return.
may have never been, 
had she not the spine
to let one go,
to let him in
to let herself live.

Consider

Our mind’s eye, 
the eye of a needle
lost inside a dark tunnel.
Wouldn’t we rather have 
a pinhole to shine a light through,
as we continue to drift?




What lies at the river’s edge?

Why not blow away
the house of cards
with the paper dolls,
wipe out the illusion, 
break through glass,
listen to the thump
over the tin,
find the North Star, 
ignore the noise,
melt, 
or just 

STOP!

and look up,
to see an eagle kiss the dawn.