An opening might be a door,
or maybe a little bit more:
a challenge, a scare,
to get somewhere
you hadn’t been before.
You might be in a tight place
with panic all over your face,
trying to steer
with tranquil veneer,
out of a vice’s embrace.
Being stuck in a city’s intestine
is not what you thought to invest in.
There’s a lesson to learn:
know where to not turn
because life can be slyly clandestine.
Linked to Dan Antion’s annual Thursday Doors Writing Challenge.
With thanks to photographer Patrick Mesterharm.
Oddments 
May 6, 2025 at 11:59 am
Oh! Maureen, photo and delightful poem are the perfect marriage! I really got a kick out of this. Thanks for starting this cold, dreary, rainy Tuesday off on such a fun note!
Ginger🦋
May 6, 2025 at 12:08 pm
Thanks, Ginger, and my sympathies on your dreary morning. I do hope it gets lighter! It seems to me we’ve had more than our share of the dismals this spring.
May 6, 2025 at 12:35 pm
A great poem, Maureen. Very quirky.
May 6, 2025 at 12:44 pm
Quirky! I like that — thanks, Robbie!
May 6, 2025 at 2:00 pm
Wonderful, Maureen! That photo reminds me of the ‘Frasier’ episode where he parked his car in a very tight space and had to escape through the sun roof!
Can’t you just hear the scraping sound as that car makes its way down the ‘city’s intestine?’ 🥴
May 6, 2025 at 2:25 pm
Oh, yes, I can hear that scraping sound! Elbows in, everybody! I’m ashamed to say I don’t remember that Frasier episode; I thought I had most of them memorized! But I can picture it! Thanks, Lois!
May 6, 2025 at 2:39 pm
I think you caught the feeling of that photo perfectly!
May 6, 2025 at 5:41 pm
Thanks, Jan! My son was a part of that. He said they had to get someone who lived there to drive, and that person had no trouble with it! My son and his friends were helpless!
May 6, 2025 at 2:46 pm
When I first saw this photo, I wondered what on earth anyone could make of it. This is perfect, and I think someone else has plans for this photo. I love it, Maureen – great job.
May 6, 2025 at 5:38 pm
Thanks, Dan! It will be fun to see what someone else makes of it.
May 6, 2025 at 7:27 pm
Love it! Great photo that puts you right there envisioning how you got there and how to get out. 🙂 Beautiful words from our very own master of words. You did good.
May 6, 2025 at 7:33 pm
Thanks, Judy! I’m very glad I wasn’t in this particular predicament, but I’ve sure made some wrong turns in life and been in tight places!
May 6, 2025 at 7:36 pm
“Yes” to making some wrong turns in life and being in tight places, and we both made it through, at least so far. 🙂
May 6, 2025 at 8:30 pm
Laughing at “so far.” Hoorar for us!
May 6, 2025 at 9:53 pm
Luckily I don’t drive! Of course you can get completely lost when walking as well…(K)
May 6, 2025 at 11:17 pm
Oh, yes. Getting lost is one of my specialties, and my sons will tell you that is not an exaggeration.
May 7, 2025 at 2:02 pm
Oh! I love it! That picture was one of my favorites, and your poem is a delightful take on it. 😀
May 7, 2025 at 8:12 pm
Thanks, Marian! I liked the photo too, even though it put my teeth on edge. So glad I wasn’t in that car!
May 8, 2025 at 11:15 am
We were in London, England, trying to make curtain for a play we’d gotten tickets for at the last minute, and our cabbie, saying he could get us there in time with a shortcut he knew, turned down a one-lane street. Another cabbie turned in, coming the other way, and there we were. Our cabbie inched forward and said, “You made this happen, din you? Back up.” The other cabbie backed up and we got to the theater on time.
May 8, 2025 at 11:20 am
I’d have been hyperventilating too much to watch the play! A one-lane two-way street? Ye gods.
May 8, 2025 at 4:01 pm
That’s a terrific poem, Maureen.
The photo was great too. I’ve never been claustrophobic. Although during the past few weeks I’ve see a couple of “tiny house” videos that unexpectedly made me feel that way. LOL, so did this photo. However, I guess one could climb out of the car through the hatchback! 😀 Great photo from Patrick. Hugs.
May 8, 2025 at 11:45 pm
Thanks, Teagan. I can assure you I’d be the first one out of that hatchback! That car is like a tiny house on wheels. And stuck!
June 3, 2025 at 6:26 pm
Amusing poem, Maureen, that matches the photo!
June 3, 2025 at 8:48 pm
Thanks, Brenda! When I saw that photo, all I could think was how glad I was not to be in that car!