Carousel

The spring sunlight glinted off ringlets curly and cute

That framed a face new to emotions mixed

Innocence, worry, excitement and dread

Commingled in a gaze that mostly stayed fixed; her eyes

Took in these fast sweeping motions

In three directions

- Down, forward and around

And always coming round, for a second to surrounds

Familiar, and then swiftly moving on

So she summons her will and vanquishes demon Doubt

And nods.

The kick of propulsion, from rest to forward motion

Jogs dopamine free to receptors in wait

And that stomach swoop sends a shudder through the stallion

As a terrible tiger readies his bouncing gait; to pounce

But falls shy, as one more turn comes past

The music and screams run exceedingly fast

She closes her eyes to make sense of it all

In rapid, ‘thralling free fall

After triple circumnavigation

She can open them again — with better intuition,

Of the end

Most carousels are poor circles for you may not finish

Where you started.