His arm is good
there is strength and power.
He sometimes practices
Hour after hour.
He knows his goal.
He must not miss it.
Butterflies dance
in his stomach’s pit.
If he succeeds
It will be a first.
His joy uncontained
Will simply burst.
Now is the time.
There’s no turning back.
He will now see
If he has the knack.
He winds up
with his eye on the goal.
He releases
And it starts to roll.
Over and over
on the path he has set.
Don’t be too confident.
It’s not there yet.
The end is in sight.
A smile starts to spread.
Embarrassed he’s not
Though his face
turns bright red.
With a thump it lands
Right where he wanted.
Someone may be angry
But he is undaunted.
He smiles as he leaves.
His goal being met.
Here’s hoping they find it
Before it gets wet.
Our carrier did leave another paper on our porch. If we hadn’t gone out that afternoon because of a doctor’s appointment I don’t know how long the paper would have stayed there.
arjeha 
This is terrific! I’m sharing it with my students! Love the rhyme and rhythm, of course, and it’s accessible, but it’s the surprise ending that will thrill them. (I’m leaving off the photo until they’ve made some guesses. This is so good for inference.) LOVE THIS!
Thank you. I would be interested in hearing some of your students’ guesses. I tried writing this as a piece of prose, but it just didn’t work. Poetry seemed the way to go.
Oh No! You had me in such suspense w/ this poem. I thought it must be about a sport until I saw the newspaper on the roof. Is your paper carrier mad at someone?
I think our carrier just had a bad aim that morning. Usually the paper is right my the door when I open it.
Haha! Great stuff! Ruth, thereisnosuchthingasagodforsakentown.blogspot.com
Thank you. I am glad our carrier left another paper on our porch.
I see papers in all sorts of weird places around my neighborhood and often wonder if people call to ask why their paper wasn’t delivered.
I am sure many people do call. For me it is just easier to go to the store and buy another paper, then call the office and have my bill adjusted.
Loved it. I thought it was something to do with baseball or football :). In cities I have seen paperboys throwing the paper up to the fourth floor. During the monsoon season, we keep a closed container for the paper. I think he finds it irksome but he has no choice 🙂 So much easier to throw the paper in.
It sounds strange, but I don’t even know who our paper carrier is. The paper is always there when I get up in the morning. I send payment directly to the newspaper’s office. Having been a carrier in my youth things are so different now.
Okay, you got me with your photograph. Because my husband is a Dodger fan, we have been watching the pitchers very closely. I could have sworn you were leading up to telling which team you were rooting for. I have not seen a paper carrier in our neighborhood for a very long time. Could they be a “thing” of the past. Certainly, this carrier missed his mark. Have a great day, Bob.
Thanks, Carol. I haven’t seen our carrier for years. I guess the paper just magically appears on our porch every morning.
For some reason my first image was about bowling. Probably because my little nephew played WII bowling last weekend. I was surprised with the ending of your poem. There was no way I could have guessed a paper on the roof.
I found it interesting to see where peoples’ thoughts led them until they got to the end.
I love the suspense in this poem! And the surprise at the end made me laugh aloud. Thank you!
Glad you enjo. Thanks for stopping by.
I’m sure they do it purposely too! That’s pretty bad aim. LOL
Maybe they are looking for a better tip?
Perfect! Love the ending photo!
Thank you. Wasn’t sure how to approach writing this.