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Strands Publishers

LIT SPHERE

Ezine

The Nearly Man

11/15/2016

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Poetry
Marc Woodward 
​

​I nearly caught a fish, Mum,
I nearly won the race,
I nearly beat the bully
'till he hit me in the face.
 
I nearly passed exams
and almost got the job
but they gave the work to Sam
- that overachieving nob!
 
I nearly paid the loan off
but then the car broke down
so I nearly got a second job
- but I couldn't get to town.
 
We nearly went to Cornwall
for a week beside the beach
but the cost of renting caravans
is far beyond our reach.
 
I nearly gave up smoking
but with all the stress at work
I needed it to calm me down
from dealing with those jerks...
 
I nearly had it licked
but I went along this week
for another routine check up
and the scan looked pretty bleak.
 
It's ok though, I'm reconciled:
I've been finalising plans.
I'm going to have my headstone say 
"Here lies the Nearly Man!
 
He lived an 'almost' kind of life
- he never had his day, 
he spent his time just fishing
for the one that got away."
​
Picture
Although born in New York, poet and musician Marc Woodward has spent most of his life in the rural English West Country. His work reflects those surroundings and often has a bleakness tempered by dark humour and musicality. 
Widely published, he has appeared in the Poetry Society and Guardian web pages, Ink Sweat & Tears, Prole, Page & Spine, Avis, The Broadsheet, The Clearing - and in anthologies from Forward, Sentinel and OWF presses. 
His chapbook 'A Fright Of Jays' is available from Maquette Press.
​A collection co-written with well known poet Andy Brown is due for publication in  2017.

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  • Home
  • Competitions
    • Strands International Flash Fiction Competition >
      • Results
      • Competition Judge
      • Submit
    • Water - Short Story (May 31, 2017) >
      • Results
      • Important Dates
      • Rules
    • Fire - Short Story (Nov 30, 2016) >
      • Results
      • Competition Judge
      • Important Dates
  • Contact
  • Call for Submissions
  • Lit Sphere
    • Novels >
      • Mrs. Saville by Ted Morrissey
      • Shueli's Star by Anna Sujatha Mathai
    • Poetry
    • Visual Art
    • Short Fiction
    • Creative Nonfiction
    • Reviews
    • Interviews