Carnival dreams

Tip your nose to the scent of sugar,
your eye to the ferris wheel!
High above a tiny toy town
feel the pulse of the vertigo reel —
don't you dare look down!

The noise of the crowd will keep you afloat —
breathe in the sparkling glitter,
plastic and paint, balloons and lights,
the sweat and sweets and shouts,
crane your neck, don't miss a thing,
bump your little car down the long, dark tunnel
of this fantastic night!

*

"Gonna want a gun when that
one's sixteen," he says
with a nod and a leer.
Your arms about her, you hold her close
and for a moment cannot breathe
in the cigarette-smoke wreath
that wraps you three,
you two and the skinny carny.

*

"Step right up, see the beautiful girl,
the most beautiful girl in the world!
Come close, come close!
She's about to perform
the world's most dangerous stunt!
Look real close, folks, and you will see,
she has no restraint at all!"

You watch her spangled body arch
and turn and tumble and flash,
plummeting fearlessly through the night
into water, or a maybe it's a net,
or the dark pit of your stomach.


This is a manipulation of a stock photo.