Laura Kasischke Near Misses Summary

The poem Near Misses by Laura Kasischke is about how she realizes she has no control over whether she lives or dies and is grateful to be alive. The poem starts with all the times she nearly missed death. These stanzas are very literal, except for the line “something spinning and made of history” in the third stanza. This resembles the later parts of this poem. After the stanzas explaining the times she nearly missed death, the poem changes slightly. It is a lot less literal, using much more imagery, metaphors, and personification. This part of the poem also states that she is a “middle-aged woman scanning the cans on the grocery store shelf.” This stanza is primarily focused on the present. The last stanza however, focuses more on the future