Here is a poem I wrote last month and read at a local poetry reading:
A Sunny Day, Three Teen Boys, and a Fishbowl. What Could Go Wrong?
It was a beautiful sunny day,
But the crawfish had long since ceased to be.
The teacher said, “You and your friends take that out!”
“Go to the creek to clean that nasty fishbowl.”
So, off they went, three teen boys headed down to the creek,
On a sunny day, with a fishbowl.
What could go wrong?
The cleanup was surprisingly quick,
Considering there were three teenage boys down at the creek.
After a minimum of horseplay, it was time to go.
Back to class, to finish the day.
So, off they trekked.
On a sunny day, with a fishbowl.
What could go wrong?
Nearing the building, they came across a gym class.
A girls’ gym class, playing softball.
So being teenage boys, on a sunny day,
They decided to stop and watch for a while.
After all, it was such a nice day.
Who wants to be stuck inside?
What could go wrong?
Where to sit?
There were only posts, with dirt
Where the bench used to be.
The young man had new pants on, so that wouldn’t work.
“I know,” he thought,
“I’ll turn the fishbowl on its side and sit!”
What could go…
Crack!
Oops!
Something had gone wrong, terribly wrong.
The fishbowl had splintered into jagged shards of glass,
Some of which were now embedded
Deep in the young man’s thigh.
Since they now couldn’t stay,
The three teen boys began the trek
Up two flights of stairs.
After the ambulance ride to the hospital,
The young man tried to explain to his mother
Why he thought sitting on a fishbowl was a good idea.
What could go wrong?
‘Tis strange but true,
This little story,
About a sunny day, three teen boys and a fishbowl.
After his brush with death
The young man recovered and
Lived to tell the tale.
Boy, I miss that fishbowl.