Best Merry Go Round Poems
One half is submerged in light,
the other in darkness.
Half says goodnight and the other
tugs the harness.
Kids climb backyard trees tinged
with school bus yellow.
As lovers play hide and seek
in the nighttime meadow.
Training wheels lay abandoned -
youthful eyes bear cornea confidence.
The silver spokes whistle through copper leaves -
once in a lifetime decadence.
August stars say their last farewell
in glorious beelines.
Whilst wrinkled fingers grasp the moon
in delicious daytime.
A woman dressed in white walks down the aisle -
her father proudly flaunts.
As a preacher recites Scripture at a funeral:
The Lord is my shepherd I shall not want...
A newborn's laugh lights the whole world up
with effortless ease.
Whilst a pair of liver-spotted legs
unbuckles its knees.
One takes the first step -
the other reaches the end of the line.
One is a wealth of wisdom -
and the other is a gift divine.
Tiny toes to caress the sand,
ashes to sprinkle in the sea -
as if Nature itself has read aloud
Ecclesiastes Three.
Categories:
merry go round, analogy, appreciation, beauty, bible,
Form:
Quatrain
You seduced, you stole, you exalted, you annihilated,
You elevated, you decimated, you connected, you sucked me dry,
You opened me up, you closed me down,
You delivered me to ecstasy, you devalued and discarded me,
You were sensual, you were sardonic,
You made my heart smile, you tore out my soul,
You put me on a marble pedestal, you stoned me with your vicious tongue,
You bathed my heart in liquid gold, you buried me in quick sand,
You crowned me as your princess, you burnt me at the stake,
You were my prophecy, you were my satan,
Your hands knew every inch of me,
You tore out my essence and trampled my boundaries,
You pledged unity only with me, you cheated,
You held me tightly in your arms, you suffocated the life out of me,
You cast, you hooked, you netted, you feasted,
You made every nerve ending shiver deliciously,
You became my nervous breakdown, you were my divine intervention,
You disconnected me from my higher power,
You were luminous, you illuminated, you are an illusion.
You loved and yet you didn't.
Because love is real. And you are not.
Categories:
merry go round, betrayal, break up, conflict,
Form:
Romanticism
When the fall came we knew everything had changed. Whispers through the Aspens became a shrill voice of winters warning. He was changing like the seasons. They didn’t understand it at first but it became more apparent as time went on. The old man was tied to a cycle and that cycle was the changing of the seasons. In the fall he was anticipatory and melancholy. Sometimes irritable and other times reflective of his life. He had lived here for 20 years. Twenty years in a nursing home…who would do that to a man? But he took it all in and lived on despite the wrongs done to him. He was usually a gentlemen but he had his temper and God hope you weren’t working that shift. Christ. But as time went along he came and went and we all got used to the cycle. And he didn’t seem to notice. He had cancer and it was going to kill him. Sooner or later. He was working on later.
He used to say, “There is a spring that flows eternal, and I am swimming in that spring." He told us he would out live all of us and see us in that spring if we were good people. I’m not sure how good or bad I am but I would like to see him in that spring, if only for moment in time.
I can’t do it anymore. I can’t go and see the old man. He's almost gone and I don’t know what say to him. Brown tobacco stains run down his chin and he’s all dressed up on like them old people. It hurts me. It really hurts me. He is my future and my end and my beginning. It’s a cycle that was invented by a sadist. But he lives on. And I think of that spring and wonder when I will be swimming in it one day. Will I see him and all my children? Will I be able to locate my dogs? I hope so. For living on earth is heaven but crossing the river and getting to the other side in one whole piece must be paradise. I pray for those around me. And I hope that I have not done too much wrong that will keep me in this dark place I loath.
Categories:
merry go round, dad, death, life,
Form:
Narrative
Round and round on the merry-go-round,
Round and round I go.
See me on my stallion high,
See now, I dip down low.
The music plays, it never stops,
It goes on all day and night.
At times, there’s sadness in its tune;
At times, it sounds so bright.
Round and round and round and round
With all those ups and downs.
The stallions marching in a line
With silly painted frowns.
I see the others riding too—
Content enough they seem.
Perhaps beneath the frozen smiles
Each like me could scream…
“Let me off! Please let me off!
I’m getting nowhere fast;
There's so much I must see and do
Before my time has passed!”
But round and round and round it goes,
And round and round again.
Might as well enjoy the ride,
For when it stops, what then?
Sandra M. Haight
~2nd Place~
Contest: Creative Layouts
Sponsor: Broken Wings
Judged: 10/25/2015
Categories:
merry go round, emotions, life,
Form:
Rhyme
The rusted Ferris wheel, a skeletal hand,
Points to a sky it can no longer command.
Once, laughter echoed, joy on the breeze,
Now silence reigns, whispered by the trees.
The carousel horses, their paint chipped and worn,
Dream of merry-go-rounds, of days yet unborn.
Once, children squealed, clinging to their steeds,
Now shadows dance, where happy laughter bleeds.
The cotton candy stand, its windows cracked and dim,
Holds the ghost of sweetness, a forgotten whim.
Once, sugary clouds, a magical delight,
Now only dust motes, swirling in the light.
The roller coaster track, a metal serpent curled,
Whispers of thrills, a forgotten world.
Once, screams of delight, a dizzying race,
Now only rust and wind, in this silent space.
The park stands empty, a monument to time,
A reminder of moments, once so sublime.
The ghosts of laughter, echo in the breeze,
Whispering of memories, of happy, carefree days.
Categories:
merry go round, fun, memory, sad,
Form:
Rhyme
Kittens spinning ‘round-and-‘round on a record player’s turn table;
Fuzzy balls of velvet hair, enjoying the ride.
Oh the elation of a, feline merry-go-round!
Categories:
merry go round, animal, cat, cute, fun,
Form:
Sijo
God what is the purpose of giving me things
only to have it start all over again?
I don't want to have it
Then start it again
I rather You don't give anything
then have it then do it again
It's not worth it to me
Actually it's worth s
I don't want it!
Your word means nothing to me
It's just words
From now on, don't tell me nothing
I don't want to hear it
See it
Feel it
Actually leave me alone
And let me be
I am better with You than without You
But I mean the other way
Leave me alone, will ya?
Categories:
merry go round, faith,
Form:
Free verse
The room you find yourself in isn’t lonely,
Neither is the world outside the window.
It’s the mind inside the head.
That’s the machine that drives the madness
And burns the shadows on the walls into dust.
There is nowhere to hide.
Nowhere to run.
Only death can bring peace
That is so desperately denied in life.
But to get there
You must first step through the door.
And,
You’ll do it.
One day.
When the pain becomes too much to bear
Or the illness too strong to fight.
Doing it isn’t the problem.
You don’t need courage for that.
You just need to deny yourself
A reason to live.
The step,
After that
Is easy.
Categories:
merry go round, deep, life, mental illness,
Form:
Dramatic Monologue
Feel rotations spin;
Can’t see where I’ve been,
Years approach and joy flies by.
When did it begin?
Much to my chagrin,
Goals elusive drift to sky.
Time is no man’s friend.
Final days I spend;
With anxiety I cope.
Begging God to end,
Yet I just suspend,
Hung by threads from fraying rope.
*Written September 4, 2014
*Written September 4, 2014
Categories:
merry go round, introspection, time,
Form:
Verse
Spring is fast approaching; it's warm outside,
meaning the carnival will arrive soon.
In my youth, I'd watch carnies set up rides
while the popcorn popper whistled a tune.
I loved to ride on the merry-go-round:
it was like riding a galloping horse.
Nothing else ever felt as good to me:
having tried all the other rides, of course.
There were gypsies to predict your future,
whose intentions you had to consider.
For they'd peddle their magical trinkets,
to the superstitious highest bidder.
I recall when I was a little boy
how the carnival brought me so much joy.
Categories:
merry go round, beautiful, feelings, fun, happiness,
Form:
Sonnet
the good
The doors to my mind and heart
circle as revolving doors.
A peek inside and you see
happy memories and joyous events,
the loves, and lifelong friendships
A cul-de-sac, though a dead end,
has a circular finish, a merry-go-round
that accumulates happiness as it spins
into a cloud of beauty and nature,
compassion, gods, and faith.
The breathless moments in life,
birth, newness, novelty, exuberance
in being, living, experiencing
laughter, butterflies, and springtime
within my soul, my gratitude.
the bad
The doors to my mind and heart
circle as revolving doors.
A peek inside and you see
the pocks of the years that came
to leave their soured, sadistic truths.
So, like a cul-de-sac you may enter
but the exit is the same as you came.
A Ferris wheel, past the highs and lows
of lost hopes, of murky dreams that end
with more questions than I will answer…
A dead end with death as the prize
for endless dreary days and noxious nights
of sorrow, sadness, misery, and grief
with no hope, no desire, no ambition
faith gone and forgone, abortive.
the ugly
The doors to my mind and heart
circle as revolving doors.
A peek inside and you see
the sear of anger and revenge
spiraling apocalyptically.
The cul-de-sac where giant wind turbines
turn and churn and gnaw at my insides
generating incompressible turbulence
that amasses until it ruptures, spewing
rage and outrage that I will honor…
In and out, inescapable, dead
like my heart, my soul black as coal,
seeking retribution for perceived
wrongs against me, ill-timed and
sanguinary persecution.
Categories:
merry go round, anger, dark, hate, life,
Form:
Free verse
As summer grieves and bids it must go,
Fall burst forth in magnificent show,
Dressing the trees in crimson hued gowns,
‘Til breezes thieve and take their leaves down,
Lacing tapestries over the ground,
While fainter becomes the robin’s sound,
Waiting for winter to come around,
With a blanket of white, so profound,
That melts away to a spring surround,
Of vibrant colors that now abound!
Categories:
merry go round, autumn, seasons, spring, summer,
Form:
Rhyme
I hand you an apple, and you are off
on a delightful spin of possibilities.
The first thought is identification,
the next, perhaps, one of degree.
Do you wish to eat it now , or might it better
adorn the fruit bowl on your table
--but those are only two. My generosity
is processed, the nature of that,
and then the apple's history,
it's shape, our relationship, your gratitude,
indeed, the sound of your reply!
Suddenly the sleepy head of consciousness
awakes and if we think of that
the carousels within our heads
begin to speed, and we
have only just begun.
Hey, it was just an apple, but
it takes us prisoner, for now
it is the catalyst of endless searching.
We may be here all night
and emerge, sleepyheads ourselves,
no wiser. This cursed carousel
races stubbornly, our horses
stolid, indefatigable. To exit
is surrender.
Our villain--and our dearest friend
is consciousness--
self,
and soul
and psyche dueling it out
on other little wooden horses next to us
yet really just another can of worms
to place in line of thought...
or did they wriggle from that apple?
My apologies.
I guess all this points up
the dual possibilities of choice
endangering the speculative flights
a universalist like me will take.
Aristotelians decry us; Platanists,
more forgiving, learn to hop
both on and off the merry-go-round
and disregard its pace.
~
Categories:
merry go round, allegory,
Form:
Free verse
such heretics pitched headlong
into fiendish frothing furnace
forcing obeisance toward primitive popular
identified, honored, glorified father figure
expressing devotion re:
decking the halls of the mountain king,
whence boughs of Juniper sprigs contriving wreaths
sanctifying twisted brambles via springling angel dust
(actually cremated remains of malefactors
stripped of habiliments) during bleak winter
unwittingly interweaving nascent (futuristic)
formally codified bona fied religions
unknowingly, tacitly, silently rendering
quintessential premises obliging
layperson to foreswear locally rooted secular treatises
trounced, trumpeted unction voided
wishy washy antithetical blind faith coalescing edicts
over course of time became established
Greco-Roman imposed group think
disallowing cynics,
diametrically emerging fanatics, skeptics
who (if he/she did not recant
recalcitrant reccommended recourse
faced torture amidst throng of madding crowd
as entertainment and forewarning gall
asper those who held steadfast dissimilar views
taught since birth, when citizenry reared
as just a little drummer boy/ girl pipsqueak
taught to stay the course (sans straight and true)
bound without freedom to express contrary aspects
of ways and whyfores, which controlled each green day
and silent night, wherefore unimaginable ogres
lined straying hip cats
eventually ensnared within warpath,
whence law of the land lend scimitar to smite
any mortal man, woman or child with flaming torches
licking the heretical body electric,
while defiant individuals
left to burn into decimated
charcoal blackened, ashen corpse.
Categories:
merry go round, allegory, america, anniversary, candy,
Form:
Elegy
Panoply of mystical elements of holly day style
breathe prez sense frostily exaled aired
per millennia athwart
(this terrestrial spaceship planet Earth)
two plus seventeen carousel rides resonated
veritable pantheon of pagan rituals
and quirky superstitions lit
(akin to a lit Christmass tree)
starry eyed imagination
as catalyst viz *****Sapiens
furrowed stern brow of forehead
aft stemmed whilst Santa oft puzzling
(allocating suitable gifts)
inducing him to tug thought generating beard
pondering, whence agents provocateurs
receive just desserts
fueled hodge podge, mished mashed, helter skelter
eclectic December twenty fifth
encompassing tens of thousands previous generations
bred despacito fixtures via paganism,
Manicheaism, Jainism, et cetera
ancient brutish credos, ethos, faiths
brewed nebulous concoction
within mindset of early mankind
loose confection, confederation, conglomeration
indiscriminately torquing, vetting, whetting
disparate constituent beliefs
contagion wrought spirit paradigm
inculcating oral tradition Madonna and child
occupying high chair
whereat superstitions birthed patchwork
comprising divergent ensemble heralding
tender petsmart impact, where world wide web populated
with sacrificial pacification sans deity
via oblation, immolation, flagellation appeasing Dominatrix
borrow wing, vis a vis amalgamated viz Roman sol invictus
wrought fiery brimstone tempting those who dared
assert contrary fledgling jambalaya outlook
provoking regally supreme sacerdotal wiseman
punishing opposing incorporating
novel modus operandi explaining sacrilegious worship
Categories:
merry go round, appreciation, beauty, december, children,
Form:
Elegy