‘Almost’ is a terrifying word!

Almost is a strange and terrifying word. It occurred to me the other day that you never get to meet anyone who has ‘almost’ done something because nobody is willing to admit failure. A journalist never interviews someone who has ‘almost’ walked the breadth of America backwards or ‘almost’ won an award or race. I suppose we never tell our ‘almosts’ because there’s no interest in a non-medal podium finish…

I almost won a poetry competition some years ago,
But was beaten by a seven-year-old girl’s verse about her hamster!
I almost bought a valuable ‘Lalique’ vase for 50p at the Car Boot Sale,
But replaced it because it looked too ordinary!
I almost won the lottery,
But missed it by five numbers!
I almost competed in Modern Pentathlon in my teens,
But didn’t like getting my hair wet!
I almost achieved an ‘A’ at Maths ‘O’ Level,
But missed it by seven grades four times!
I almost grew an earth-shattering new crop on the farm,
But I couldn’t see how it would fit into my rotations!
I almost installed money-saving solar panels on every roof,
But didn’t because they looked too expensive!

I almost took an award-winning wildlife photograph yesterday,
But the raptor wouldn’t stay still and flew off!
I suppose that’s ‘Just Life!’
How many ‘almosts’ have you had?

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