One slight misstep, and the ladder
moved and went down,
and the man with it.

Helpless and alone, his cries
for help were heard by no one
but the neighbor’s dog.

By chance, on coming out to hush
the dog, the neighbor heard the man
feebly moaning, discovered his plight,
and summoned an ambulance.

While lying on the porch, the man
had realized that his whole life was
a series of narrow escapes like this;
one of which, at the end,
he would not survive.

After that, nothing was the same.