Wake Up Call
Pouring them down late into the night.
Burning up the world, and yourself
in the process. Remember those days?
Then behind the wheel, homeward bound,
oncoming cars the light that kept you awake.
The radio’s blare and the window’s rattle.
Feel the beat from the tambourine, oh yeah.
Drumbeat on the steering wheel,
counting headlights to the music’s rhythm.
Wondering the next morning how you got home.
That’s when you finally came to your senses.
How did you ever survive those days?
This poem is my response to This one’s for you, Bjorn!, the prompt from Lillian at dVerse ~ Poets Pub, which asks us to use “word for word, one line, and one line only” from the lyrics of Dancing Queen, by ABBA. (“Feel the beat from the tambourine, oh yeah“)
Image source: Wikimedia Commons
rivrvlogr 
It’s amazing how you make it through… I remember a few drives like that as well… but coming home was so very important.
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Yes, I still wonder.
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Great use of the line! Oh yes…..I wonder how I ever made it through some of those wild times when I was young. At least my folks had a stick-shift car which required me to focus a bit more than had it been automatic!
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Thank you, Lillian.
I remember shifting coming in time with the music.
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Absolutely stellar writing here, Ken! I love how seamlessly you have incorporated the line here. I guess there is a certain kind of magic that aids us in surviving a certain time, era and place. 💝💝
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And quite often it’s dumb luck!
Thank you, Sanaa.
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We didn’t have a car, thank goodness!
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A near impossibility, over here.
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If you missed the last bus, you slept on the floor 🙂
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Love this Ken. Yes, I have wondered how I made it home after some fun nights — and some hard days at work……
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But we survived!
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🙂
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It is a scary thing to have no memory of how you got home the night before. In my misspent youth it was known to happen.
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I drink far less than I did in those days, so sometimes I can get a buzz from just one beer.
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Been there …
You make this a pleasurable read in spite of “knowing better”
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Thanks, Jazz.
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I wonder that all the time! 🙂
Pax,
Dora
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🙂
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No matter what state i’ve ever been in, I’ve ALWAYS been (& still am) a steering wheel drummer. You worked that line in beautifully, Ken. Salute!
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Same here. Thanks, Ron.
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Well that one really hit home…great and very real atmosphere, and now a question that’ll stay on my mind a few hours….
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I still wonder. Thanks.
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I sometimes wonder that myself, Ken!
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Fortunately, we learn along the way. Thank you, Ingrid.
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Delightful and I think I remember those moments 🙂
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Thank you. Still being around to remember them is a good thing.
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Absolutely 🙂
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An interesting flash-back to times gone by and survived! Well done! Some never got a chance to come to their senses!
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Agreed. Thank you, Dwight.
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Never bought or owned a car.
Always been driven.
But yes is scene is not unknown to me. Nice one Ken
Much💜love
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Thank you, Gillena.
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