Opportunity

Opportunity knocks but once. Walter Malone transforms this familiar adage into a muscular, unforgettable poem that refuses to let its readers off the hook. With crisp, declarative verses, Malone personifies Opportunity as a figure who stands at the door only briefly, offering a gift that cannot be claimed once passed. The poem pulses with kinetic energy, each line a small act of defiance against complacency and excuses. It is the literary equivalent of a firm handshake and direct eye contact: brief, bracing, and designed to shake something loose in the reader. Malone wrote this before twenty, yet the wisdom here feels earned across a lifetime of watching people let chances slip away. The poem has since become a touchstone for anyone standing at a threshold, wondering whether to step through. Read it when you need reminding that the moment is always now.